“Task sharing is critical we should move with speed to train our nurses to administer ART. We want every clinic in every village to have people who can administer the treatment. From counselling to testing until the end, let us do that and nurses should also develop themselves,” said Health Minister Henry Madzorera last week.
While the country has a shortage of doctors, it has a considerable number of nurses – with some 1500 said to be unemployed. Experts say that if available resources are put to good use then every corner of the country could have people with the know-how to dispense the life-prolonging antiretroviral drugs.
Paul Foreman of Medicine Sans Frontiers said decentralisation was the key as it ensured greater access to treatment.
“If we truly decentralise, then every rural clinic, however, small, needs to integrate HIV diagnosis and treatment into its programmes,” he said.
“We need to train health staff at different levels, not just medical doctors, to deliver all the services necessary to diagnose and treat HIV. Counselling can be done in the community and by the community.
“Prescribing ARVs can be done by many health professionals, if they are trained and supervised and licensed appropriately. It is not necessarily the exclusive domain of doctors,” said Foreman.
Post published in: Health