Chikankata Mission, Zambia - HIV AIDS Response Department

The HIV/AIDS Response Department (HARD) is one of the key departments at the Salvation Army, Chikankata Mission Hospital. The department was founded in 1986 to coordinate the institutional response following the advent of the AIDS epidemic. The department is made up of 5 units namely:

Counselling
OVC (Orphans and Vulnerable Children)
Home based care
ART (Anti-Retroviral Therapy)
Training and multipurpose training centre.

The department works with other departments at Chikankata Mission Hospital, the local community, government departments and other external stakeholders.

Our Vision

An HIV/AIDS free community.

Our Mission

The HIV AIDS Response Department endeavours to carry out the premier Christian programme for AIDS related community and training services in Zambia.

Core Values

The HIV AIDS Response Department is guided by the following values in its effort to execute various HIV/AIDS related services to the local and outside community.

Respect for the rights of clients, the local and external stakeholders.
Empowerment and sustainability
Trustworthiness, transparency and accountability
Community-driven initiatives
Equitable provision of HIV/AIDS services
Gender sensitivity in HIV/AIDS

Objectives

HARD is operating on the following objectives in order to realize the set objectives.

To improve the lives of orphans and vulnerable children and youths through a community based support system
To better the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS through the Care and Prevention Teams (CPT)concept and practice
To reduce the further spread of HIV through community participation.
To build the capacity of various stakeholders through orientation, technical support and training.
To enhance the community economic capacity for mitigation of the impact of HIV/AIDS.
To promote worker’s access to HIV/AIDS related services.

Cooperating Partners

Under this department, Chikankata Mission Hospital has had funding relationships with CIDA Canada, CIDA Sweden, AUSAID, UNICEF, PEPFAR, SAWSO, European Union and many other well wishers. At present, the department is working in partnership with KNH, CHAZ/Global Fund, AHF, HOPE HIV and RATN. We are grateful to all our partners, both past and present for their kind generosity and all that we have achieved together.

Hiv Aids Response Department Programmes

Counselling Unit

The Counselling Unit promotes community engagement at individual, family and group level with the aim of helping to respond to issues of HIV prevention, care and support. The unit provides pre and post test counselling in the hospital to help people make choices to test for HIV which is key to HIV prevention and linkage to care and support at both institutional and community level. At community level the unit utilizes Community Capacity Enhancement through Community Conversation (CCE) approach for engaging with varying categories of members of the community such as men, women, youths, children, headmen and the general population to encourage them to reflect, share experiences and make choices for their life. This unit makes efforts to ensure that the community prevents the further spread of HIV at community level by ensuring that the Care and Prevention Teams (CPTs) are empowered to carry out various HIV prevention interventions such as community sensitizations aimed at helping members of the community to adopt behaviour that does not risk HIV infection.

OVC Care (Orphans and Vulnerable Children)

The OVC unit exists to promote a community response to the management of the OVC situation. At present, the department through this unit has registered 5771 OVC who are being reached. To achieve the overall goal, the unit is working through community structures including OVC committees and an OVC board whose membership is made up of 400 volunteers.

The key activities include: enhancement mobilization meetings, refresher trainings, quarterly OVC board meeting, CPT/OVC collaboration meetings, OVC tournaments, knowledge reinforcement meetings for headmen, leadership skills training for the OVC board, internal and external exchange visits, child participation forum, stakeholders meetings and commemoration of important days such as World AIDS day, Youth Day, Day of the African Child and World VCT Day.

Child crossing the bridge of life at the camp

Recreational Activity at Camp for OVC

In addition, the unit executes entrepreneurship skills training for OVC committees and OVC households, economic empowerment to guardians and OVC, issue based PSS meetings for guardians, OVC parenting skills training for guardians, OVC skills camp, inter community athletics for OVC, child counselling training skills for OVC committee members, radio programmes, partners’ meetings and paralegal skills trainings for OVC committee members.

Other activities are technical support visits to programme sites, supervisory visits, review meetings, occasional provision of working kits to OVC committees such as T. shirts and bicycles to OVC committees and other stakeholders within the project sites as a way of supplementing the community effort. For example, the unit has partnered with the community to put up a 2 x 2 classroom and teachers house at Lwaala Community School.

Home Based Care

Through this unit the HIV AIDS Response Department ensures that the needs of PLWHA, the aged, disabled, mentally challenged clients at community level are met. This is done through Care and Prevention Teams (CPTs) which are multidisciplinary groups of volunteers chosen by the community to offer services to members of the community without any pay. Basic needs of clients are met using locally mobilized resources. The CPTS visit clients in their respective home, offers psychosocial support to them, they ensure that those clients who are on ART and other forms of treatment take their medicine according to instructions. The CPTs also support families of these clients in many ways so that they are able to look after their sick relatives better.

Muka Buumi (ART) Clinic

The ART (Anti Retroviral Therapy) clinic is commonly known as Muka Buumi which means “mother of life”. This unit is part of HARD administratively as it is both an HIV intervention as well as part of the main hospital medically. The department has currently enrolled 5,419 of which 2,732 are on ART. Services provided by the ART clinic include:

HIV Counselling and Testing

Education and Communication

Baseline Investigation

Patient Examination

As well as patient tracking, adherence counselling and data management.

Training

Chikankata Mission Hospital through the HARD department has been conducting HIV/AIDS related short courses to local, regional and international participants since 1989. So far over 5000 people have been trained in various HIV/AIDS management related skills. The courses that are on offer are Community Care of HIV/AIDS ToT, Children and Their Carers ToT, Psychosocial Counselling and Child Counselling. Chikankata Mission Hospital has partnered with the Regional AIDS Training Network (RATN) in delivering children and their Carers and Community Care of HIV/AIDS Courses while the other two are executed using participants’ contributions.

Multi – Purpose Training Centre