For the past 20 years, the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has been providing support to Tanzania towards the fight against HIV/AIDS. With PEPFAR’s commitment to providing adequate medical treatment, the programme has recorded several success stories, especially in Mbarali District in Mbeya Region where beneficiaries have recounted positive impacts in their lives.
According to Dr Alick Kayange, the Senior Prevention Advisor at the US Embassy’s Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, the programme has ensured the availability of all necessary medical supplies and drugs in hospitals and health centres across Tanzania. Medical practitioners are also being trained to offer quality services, while modern laboratories have been brought into the country to measure viral loads, with the biggest laboratory in Mbeya region.
Beneficiaries of the programme have praised PEPFAR for their intervention implemented by the Henry Jackson Foundation Military Research International (HJFMRI). One of the beneficiaries, Mr Anthony Kyando, a Rujewa town resident, discovered he was HIV positive in 1996 and had lost hope in life until he got to know about PEPFAR’s program. Mr Kyando has since been sensitising people on the importance of getting tested, receiving treatment, and establishing their status.
Thanks to Mr Kyando’s efforts, PEPFAR funds now support SHDEPHA, an initiative he and another volunteer founded in Mbarali. Patients who faced financial challenges travelling to Mbeya for treatment have access to local services and the centre has served over 50 clients from Rujewa township. PEPFAR’s intervention in the fight against HIV has brought a new dawn from hopelessness to hope, thereby improving millions of lives.
