HIV pioneers honoured

By Meluse Kapatamoyo

The year 2013 ended on a celebratory note for 12 lucky individuals who were honoured as PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief) Zambia Champions for their work in the fight against HIV and AIDS.

The champions were honoured at an official award ceremony held at the Radisson Blu Hotel on December 13, 2013.

In August, the organization launched a contest calling for nominations of Champions from across the country to honour and recognize for their passion and tireless dedication to their communities.

PEPFAR Country Coordinator, Kristie Mikus, had this to say about the recipients, " Each champion speaks out for those who need a voice, cares, for those who cannot care for themselves, and fights against stigma and discrimination  of people living with HIV."

U.S Embassy's Charge' d' Affaires, David Young commended the champions for embodying the spirit of Nelson Mandela in their inspirational leadership, and thanked them for their passion and shared vision for an AIDS-free generation in Zambia."

Each champion was featured in a PEPFAR Zambia 2014 Calendar in addition to receiving a $1, 000 to donate to a local organization or community group of their choice.



PEPFAR Zambia 2013 Champions

Among those honoured was Sister Mariola Mierzejewska, sister-in-charge of Kasisi Children's Home. She and her staff are currently providing care and support to 250 orphans and vulnerable children, 60 of whom are living with HIV.
Anita Muchanga was honoured posthumously. She died at age 16, four years after discovering she was HIV.  Rather than giving up, she continued to attend school and formed  "the children's corner" where she talked openly with peers about her HIV status and provided counseling to children facing stigma, and helped them speak out. Her mother, Monica Muchanga received the award.

Other recipients on the list included; Henry Siwo and Colonel Emmanuel Daka. Every fortnight, people from kilometers(AFAR) congregate at Tithandizani ("We Help Each Other") Health Center to receive both ARVs and education about living with HIV and AIDS, led by Siwo.

Colonel Daka is Commanding Officer at Zambia National Service Camp in Kitwe. He was one of the first military officers to openly discuss his HIV status and currently  promotes counseling and testing among his troops, taking personal responsibility for mentoring those who are HIV positive.

The PEPFAR Award also went to Eunice Chikoye, a widow, who tested positive to HIV after her husband's death in 2002. A farmer, who also sells vegetables at the market to raise money for her children's school fees, after her work, Eunice walks to the clinic and reports for duty as an HIV counselor.  She is a trained facilitator for HIV groups and serves as a counterpart to a U.S Peace Corps Volunteer in her community.

Joining her was Alex Makina, also living positively. In just two years of discovering his status, he formed 20 support groups in Mwinilunga, leading to a significant reduction in stigma against those living with HIV in the area. After moving to Mufumbwe, Alex led the formation of 45 support groups in the district. He supports group members to access ARVS, and promotes services for Voluntary Male Medical Circumcision, condom distribution, and male involvement in prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

Equally deserving of the award was Deacon Revious Chisha, who established a voluntary and testing center in Mongu. Since then, more than 8000 people have been tested for HIV and 300 orphans have received support.  The deacon formed a support group for positive living with HIV, linked the Voluntary Counseling and Treatment (VCT) center with rural health centers, started a school to train Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC's)s in tailoring, computers and carpentry and income - generating activities.

Also honored was Minerva Phiri, founder and head of Bwafwano Care Providers. For 10 years, she has helped provide food for undernourished children, nutrition education for widows and trainings on other important topics such as human rights and disputes over land. She runs workshops on HIV and AIDS and drug abuse, encourages women to get tested for HIV and has helped to protect young girls from sexual exploitation.


Chief Mumena shakes hands with Prof Nkandu Luo

Clad in traditional regalia, His Royal Highness Chief Eshiloni Mumena from North-Western province, a powerful advocate of Voluntary Male Medical Circumcision (VMMC) was also handed the PEPFAR Championship award. In 2011 and at age 47, he underwent circumcision, after hearing about VMMC from his 18 year old son. Since his procedure, he now actively promotes the practice through out Zambia and in other Southern African countries.

Angela Malik has set up three community-based organizations in the Ng'ombe compound in the capital, Lusaka and is also co-founder of Ng'ombe Home-Based care where she remains an active caregiver. Angela started the Kondwa ("Be Happy") Day Care Center by converting her own property, a former bar run by her late husband, into a place where orphaned children could get meals and give their guardians rest. The Pakachele Community School is a primary school where children go after they "graduate" from the Kondwa Day Care Center and the Seko (Laughter) House is a home for orphaned girls providing shelter, food, education, psychosocial care, and spiritual guidance.

Paul was orphaned at 18 and formed the PAZESA Horticultural Community to assist others who find themselves in similar circumstances, working 20 years to assist OVCs and their households. Paul and PAZESA have assisted nearly 6, 000 individuals through linking support groups to a global network for people living positively.

The list would have been incomplete without renowned doctor, Mannasseh Phiri, one of Zambia's leading and outspoken HIV and AIDS activists. Apart from being a columnist and hosting  a radio show which tackles the complexities surrounding the disease, he addresses issues head on related to homosexuality, sex workers, gender-based violence, people living with HIV and adopting a rights-based approach in advocating for HIV services for all. PYM

QUAD PILL: The HIV adherence booster

By Meluse Kapatamoyo

Adherence to medication is critical for people living with HIV. However, the number of tablets a patient is required to take on a daily basis makes it difficult to stick to a regular time-table, a situation which can lead to drug resistance.



Clemetine Mumba

For people like Clementine Mumba, who has been on anti-retroviral therapy (ART) for the last 12years, she soon may no longer have to worry about the number of pills she would have to take on a daily basis.

A recent US study has revealed “Quad pill” tablet which combines four HIV drugs into a single daily treatment. The four in one pill is intended to make it easier for patients to stick to their medication, improving the effects of their treatment.

Mumba was diagnosed with Tuberculosis in 1998 and immediately commenced treatment but tested HIV positive eight months later.

In the year 2000, she started the antiretroviral therapy (ART) but had to discontinue due to prohibitive cost of Antiretroviral (ARVs) drugs at the time. The drugs cost K1.5 million per month (U$300).

“The stress of taking so many drugs was too much and as if that was not enough, storage of (Kaletra) was also difficult for me, especially when I was travelling.  I used to move with a small cooler box all the time when I was travelling out of my base.

I remember one time, my friend lost her father in Mpulungu (Northern Zambia) and I escorted her for a funeral in the village where there was no electricity and no refrigerator.  I would buy ice water at the market and put it in the small cooler box just to keep my drugs cool.”

Though Mumba restarted her treatment two years later, she had already developed resistance to the drugs.

In 2005 after becoming resistant to first-line treatment, Mumba was put on 2nd line drugs and started taking Aluvia and Truvada which she says require her to take fewer tablets daily.

Instead of the earlier 7 tablets, she now only takes 5 (2 Aluvia tablets, twice daily and 1 Truvada tablet daily)

The Quad pill is said to be the first multi-pill to include a type of anti-HIV drug known as an integrase inhibitor, which stops the virus from replicating.

Researchers say the solitary once a day pill was found to be faster acting and had fewer side-effects compared to two widely used drug regimes.

Mumba says “for me taking one pill a day would make a great difference in my life, it will christmax, especially that it has fewer side effects.  Some of the drugs that I have taken have left me with fatal side effects which are physically irreversible.

So the news of one pill, once per day and fewer side effects, will be truly good news for a woman like me, who has come a long way from taking so many TB drugs, so many ARV drugs to one tablet only once per day.”

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), standard ART consists of the combination of at least three ARV drugs to maximally suppress the HIV virus and stop the progression of HIV disease.

An estimated 34 million people are currently living with HIV worldwide. At the end of 2011, over 8 million people living in low- and middle-income countries had access to ART, reported the WHO and UNAIDS organisations.

While access of ARVs by infected people remains vital, finding a lasting solution to drug resistance, that would ensure patients take their medication daily and on time is equally important.PYM