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‘NGO withdrawal would signify doom’

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BUHERA district administrator Rolland Madondo has pleaded with Médecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) to rethink its plans to pull out of projects they are supporting.

BUHERA district administrator Rolland Madondo has pleaded with Médecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) to rethink its plans to pull out of projects they are supporting saying this would negatively affect the over 15 000 people who are living with HIV in the area.

Feluna Nleya

Madondo told journalists during a tour of MSF projects in Buhera that the withdrawal by the group would signify doom for thousands of patients who have been benefiting from their benevolence since 2002.

“We have been working well with MSF unfortunately they have notified us that they will be leaving next December. If that happens what then will become of our patients,” Madondo said.

“We are grateful with the assistance we have been getting from MSF when it comes to ARV drugs.”

He said Murambinda Mission Hospital had become popular because of the quality of service for patients affected with HIV with people coming from as far as Harare and Bulawayo because of the assurance that they would get the drugs and quality service.

“We were comfortable with that as we cannot pretend that the pandemic is not with us. We have been told December 2015 they will be leaving, that is a source of concern, what will happen to our patients?” Madondo queried.

He said government needed partners to effectively deal with the health matters in the area.

“I am advocating for continuation of partnership with MSF so that we get the attention we have been getting over the years,” Madondo said.

“If you see the people on treatment, you can’t believe it because they are healthy. It is not noble for you to pull out at the moment. You are leaving those 15 000 people in a mess.”

MSF Buhera district field coordinator Caroline Aluda said her organisation would be handing over its projects to the Ministry of Health and Child Care beginning this June.

“When programmes have been supported through the growth and development phase, we hand project activities over to the MoHCC, where people continue to receive uninterrupted treatment,” Aluda said.

“We are starting on mentors and planning to drop some clinics from June. “Mentors will take over from June with 10 clinics and we have chosen the best performing clinics for them, September we hand over some and come 2015 we will hand over everything.”

Aluda added: “We are already discussing with patients about that changes that might come as a result of our exit since ART patients were accessing service for free, they might be required to pay a certain fee at the hospital for service rendered after we exit. We have already tried to sensitise all the stakeholders to ensure a smooth hand over.”

Buhera district has about 15 490 patients who are active on ART, 22 197 were ever initiated on ART.

The district has registered 1 244 deaths, 3 552 were lost to follow-up and about 1 982 patients were transferred.

MSF has been working in Zimbabwe since the year 2000.