The partnership is focusing both on improving the physical environment at the facility and bolstering its human capital by recruiting new staff and implementing practical training programs. Additionally, partners will develop an ART clinic and service referral network to better ensure patient access to a continuum of care.

Challenges

With more than 6 million reported cases of HIV/AIDS and infection rates at 29 percent and rising, South Africa is one of the hardest hit countries on the continent. In November 2003, the South African government adopted a comprehensive plan for AIDS treatment and care, which calls for the provision of ART in the public health sector. This mandate is being severely hindered by a lack of adequate human resource capacity and health system infrastructure, particularly an acute shortage of qualified healthcare providers.

This national situation is reflected at Brits, a facility that is both overcrowded and under-resourced. The hospital cannot meet the demands of the communities it serves and its staff members are working in dire conditions, often underpaid and overburdened by the rising number of AIDS patients seeking treatment and support.

Capacity Building Targets

With the overall goal of improving the quality of HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and support services provided by the Brits District Hospital HIV/AIDS Clinic and its referral sites, the partnership’s objectives are to:  

• strengthen the operational and managerial capacity of the Brits HIV/AIDS Clinic;
• strengthen the capacity of the Brits HIV/AIDS Clinic to provide integrated HIV/AIDS-TB prevention, care, and support services; and
• strengthen the referral system between the Brits HIV/AIDS Clinic and selected community-based treatment facilities.

Accomplishments to Date

• Brits District Hospital has installed a mobile unit to serve as the facility’s HIV/AIDS Clinic. Designed with efficiency in mind, the new site’s proximity to key services such as the laboratory, pharmacy, and counseling center make it much more convenient for HIV-positive patients to easily access the wide range of services they need.
• The Foundation for Professional Development is currently looking into the cost of contracting with a film company to document the development of the Brits HIV/AIDS Clinic, which could serve as a model for scaling up other rural clinics.
• The Foundation is collaborating with the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care (IAPAC) and AIHA to create a mechanism for placing American medical volunteers in South Africa, with potential expansion of the program into other countries in the region such as Lesotho and Swaziland.