HIV and Aids treatment services have been over-stretched in Mashonaland West province due to the malfunctioning of CD4 counting machines, leaving 89 000 people who are on anti-retro-viral therapy (ART) greatly exposed, an organisation overseeing the welfare of the constituency said yesterday.
By Tatenda Chitagu
Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV and Aids (ZNNP+) Mashonaland West provincial co-ordinator Tariro Mukandi said most people living with the disease were now losing out due to unavailability of the services.
“We have 189 ART sites, but sadly, only 46 CD4 counting machines are functional, while the whole province has one viral load testing machine at Chinhoyi General Hospital, which can only do 180 viral load copies per day for all the eight districts.
“89 000 people are on ART in Mash West. This is because of the numerous hotspots we have in the province like Murombedzi growth point, Magunje, Hurungwe, Empress and Billis mines, Kanyanga and Chakari.
“The services are overwhelmed and this is affecting treatment of the disease because if one cannot get a viral load test within the prescribed time, then it will be difficult to manage treatment,” the ZNNP+ official said.
Zimbabwe’s health delivery system took a dip over the years owing to donor pullout and a broke government.
