Getting tested is free but having a T – Cell profile also known as CD4 count conducted is an uphill task. Hospitals and the OIC (opportunist infectious
clinics) are overwhelmed with very sick people who intend to receive free ARVs, however that can only be done after their CD4, count has been determined.
With the huge backlog at Parirenyatwa Hospital, HIV / AIDS patients are being asked to wait for nearly 18 months for their free CD4 count to be done. On average it takes nearly 2 years for someone in Zimbabwe to get tested and start receiving ARVs.
At the moment in Harare, there is only one medical laboratory called Medical Chambers which is still conducting CD4 count at a cost US$ 95 or Z$ 35 million cash per individual. If the CD4 count is lower than 200, one is then sent for another blood test to determine the toxicity vulnerability of the liver before they are put on ARVs at a cost US$ 65 or Z$ 25 million cash.
Such charges are too expensive for ordinary Zimbabweans who cannot even afford a meal per day forcing them to shy away from the testing centres and rely on natural herbs and Godly intervention.
The sharp increase of TB patients is a cause for concern, such that VTCs (voluntary testing and counseling centres) have been established at most infectious hospitals such as Beatrice and Wilkins in Harare. According to the Ministry of Health, 1 out of 2 TB patients is HIV positive giving rise to the number of people getting tested on daily basis.
It is unfortunate that most people, who are tested HIV positive through this exercise, will never get to receive free treatment. It is either they will fall sick and die before they have even known their CD4 profile or they will lose heart and rely on other remedies for their ailments.
I personally made a follow-up of an HIV case of a Harare man who was diagnosed of TB in December 2007. He was put on TB medication mid December until June 2008.
Jay Jay was asked to go for HIV testing at Wilkins and he as well as his wife tested positive. His three year old daughter miraculously tested negative putting her off the hook.
According to Jay Jay he was asked to wait until June 2009 so that he could have his CD4 count done at one of the state referral hospitals, due to backlog. However after completing his TB treatment in June this year he remained sickly and he returned to Wilkins for a review, unfortunately he was asked to wait for his turn in 2009.
Jay Jay was in and out of hospital from June as he could not start taking ARVs in the absence of a CD4 count. From his outside appearance his CD4 count, could have gone down to 150 and below forcing him to start buying Cotrimoxazole from the black market, prolonging his life with only fife months.
Jay Jay passed on in the early hours of the 11th of November at the age of
35 before he got to know his CD4 count. May Jay Jay’s soul rest in peace.
Jay Jay’s misery did not end on the day he died because the funeral home with whom he had a funeral policy refused to conduct the burial because according to his medical documents he was HIV positive and that he was sick for a period exceeding six months.
A visit at Glenville Cemetery (Mbudzi) in Harare has shown that the mortality rate has gone up of late but what is more worrying is that it is the age group 20 years to 28years which is the most affected.
Jay Jay’s scenario is just a tip of an iceberg as Zimbabweans continue to succumb to the deadly epidemic that has since been tamed in poor neighboring countries such as Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique.
Jay Jay might not have died if he had been taken for CD4 count early just to let him start the ARV medication in time.
SWRadio Africa
Post published in: News