HIV Patients Struggled to Access Treatment Amidst COVID-19

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, some HIV patients defaulted their treatments as they could not access clinics. Image by Unsplash

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BY CALVIN MANIKA | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | NOV 2, 2022

Faced with challenges to access clinics, some HIV patients defaulted their treatments at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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HWANGE (The Citizen Bulletin) — The imposition of restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the uptake of medication for people on antiretroviral treatment (ART). People on ART like others were afraid to visit the clinics and hospitals as the virus spread at an alarming rate. Lack of transport for those in remote areas threatened the health of the patients as some defaulted after failing to walk long distances.

The unfinished 5 Miles Hospital which is used as an Opportunistic Infections ART Clinic to cater for HIV positive patients was used as a District’s COVID-19 isolation centre. This deterred some patients from visiting the facility despite the Ministry of Health and Child Care having placed measures for the smooth flow of both programs.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused much uncertainty around the world, including for people living with and affected by HIV. The WHO Global Clinical Platform reported the need for people living with HIV to stay as healthy as possible and regularly take antiretroviral medications.

Dumisani Moyo says he was in a predicament in a bid to survive defaulting ART medication while surviving COVID-19 as he dreaded both.

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“I live 15 kilometres from the clinic where I collect medication. I couldn't walk such a long distance to and from. But I needed to survive both pandemics.”
Dumisani Moyo, a patient on ART

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Patients on ART say they had a hard time during lockdowns in getting medication as they could have spent a lot of time passing through the authorities. But, most worrisome was the fear of contracting the deadly disease at the clinics. Down the lane, their vaccination status was not clear until medical experts cleared them to take COVID-19 jabs.

“Rumours were also another threat. People would say, we are more vulnerable to the disease than any other people. I then chose to stay home and find other ways. Only later after an informed explanation, I made efforts to visit the clinic and collect my medication,” adds Moyo.