2005 Press Releases

U. S. GOVERNMENT TO SUPPORT ARV PROGRAM IN ZIMBABWE

(18/8/2004)

Zimbabwe’s National Anti-retroviral (ARV) Treatment Program will take a step forward on Wednesday, August 18, 2004 as United States Ambassador Joseph Sullivan will open a new front in the battle against HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe by unveiling a free ARV treatment program at the USAID offices at Number 1 Pascoe Avenue, Belgravia, Harare.  The launch of the rollout of the ARV treatment program will take place at 1000 hours.
  
Under the U. S. Embassy-Harare, U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID) are combining technical and financial resources into a single U. S. Government Anti-retroviral Treatment Support Program  (US-ARVS), to support the initiation and scale-up of Zimbabwe’s National Anti-retroviral Treatment Program.  This support is part of the over $20 million annually in bilateral HIV/AIDS assistance from the U. S. to support the most critical HIV/AIDS prevention and care interventions and programs in Zimbabwe.
 
U. S.-ARVS will support the initiation of Zimbabwe’s National Antiretroviral Treatment Program at two pilot sites:  Harare Hospital and Mpilo Hospital.  Support is intended to complement Zimbabwe’s national investment in enhanced care and treatment for HIV.  It will also support initiation of programs at up to three additional sites during the first year.  The selected sites are: Howard Mission Hospital in Mashonaland Central Province, Khami Road Clinic in Bulawayo City’s Health Department, and Colin Saunders Hospital in Triangle Limited in Masvingo Province.  All five sites will receive the U. S. Government donated ARV medicines totaling US$500,000.00 and have already developed their standard operating procedures for the program and are ready to start treating patients.  We anticipate that up to 1000 patients will be supported at five sites by the end of 2004.
 
The U. S. Government is also donating a supply of medicines for up to 100 patients receiving Ministry of Health and Child Welfare ARV medicines who may develop toxicity to the first line treatment.  This is valued at US$28,500.  Considerable technical support has been provided by the MOCHW and U. S. Government agencies in the development of the standard operating procedures and other critical components of the ARV treatment program. 
 
Financial support includes monies for procurement of anti-retroviral medications.  Technical support provided by both CDC and USAID is based on areas of comparative technical advantage for each agency.  Areas of technical support include:

•  Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT)
• Counseling and testing capacity at clinical venues
• Clinical training in comprehensive HIV care including anti-retroviral therapy
• Site assessments for anti-retroviral treatment “readiness”
• Logistical planning and capacity building
• Procurement of anti-retroviral medications
• Laboratory capacity including CD4+ counts and HIV viral loads
• Informatics and data management
• Monitoring and evaluation/operational research

CDC and USAID participate in the National Emergency Task Force on Anti-retroviral Therapy (NETA) and the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare’s (MOHCW) Care and Treatment Partners’ Forum.  These groups help to ensure good communication and consistent understanding of MOHCW plans and policies among partners actively involved in supporting or implementing anti-retroviral treatment activities.