HIV waiting lists extensive

We have between 200 and 300 people on the waiting list for antiretroviral (ARV) drugs and we can only cater for few people. We fear it might take up to a year before a patient is put on ARV drug therapy, said an official from Mutare Provincial hospital in an interview with The Zimbabwean.

More than 320 000 people in Zimbabwe are in need of ARV treatment. Of the 1.7 million living with HIV only about 150 000 are obtaining the medication from the public health sector.

The health official noted that Zimbabweans, who cross the border in search of better economic opportunities in Mozambique, are returning to Mutare hospitals and clinics for treatment, as they are unable to easily access ARVs in Mozambique.

They come for diagnosis when they are in such bad shape that we are forced at times to allow them to jump the queue for anti-retrovirals, said the official.

Ruramai Chikodzore, 30, decided to avoid the long waiting list in Mutare by enrolling for free ARV treatment in rural Chigodora, about 20 km south of the city last year.

The process was relatively simple and there was no queue, but he has recently been finding in difficult to get the drugs from Zimunya rural clinic.

The clinic staff said they had run out of drugs, so I have to buy from nurses here for US$50. I cannot raise such money. So I am dying slowly, said Chikodzore.

Zimbabwe is among the countries worst affected by the HIV and AIDS pandemic, with an estimated 3000 people dying weekly from AIDS related illness according to the National AIDS Council.

A health expert Dr Martin Mushore said: A severe shortage of food that has affected Zimbabweans for the past decade and the collapse of the health sector have only helped exacerbate the HIV and AIDS pandemic.

He added that the collapse of the health sector along with that of the public education system reflected the decayed state of Zimbabwes key infrastructure and institutions after years of acute recession.