The Desmond Tutu Health Foundation (DTHF) is bringing its services closer to residents in the Klipfontein Mitchell’s Plain Substructure (KMPSS).
Focusing on HIV/Aids prevention with its Fast PrEP initiative, the foundation launched a two- to three-year study in Hanover Park on Thursday, but the study will service various areas across the basin.
“Pre Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) is a chemical condom. It is a once-daily tablet that helps with the prevention of HIV,” says project lead Dr Justine Stewart.
PrEP can only be administered to persons who test HIV negative.
The service is offered free of charge and mobile buses are staffed by registered medical practitioners.
For the purpose of the study, females aged 15 to 29 are the target group, along with their sexual partners. Some same-sex male participants will have access to the same services as the women in the study.
These include HIV testing, pregnancy testing and a holistic approach to family planning.
Support is also available in the form of peer counsellors and HIV counsellors.
Stewart says there is a lack of acceptance in the community when it comes to sexual intercourse.
The initiative will be conducted in collaboration with the Western Cape Department of Health.
KMPSS spokesperson for the department Monique Johnstone, says: “The Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation has a long-standing working relationship in the Klipfontein and Mitchell’s Plain Substructure and started a study around HIV in adolescent girls and young women a few years ago. With the department’s roll out of PrEP to high-risk, HIV negative persons, DTHF was approved to roll out this model in KMPSS.”
Johnstone says this project aims to implement PrEP to the at-risk, sexually active population in KMPSS to reduce HIV incidence.
“This would be through increased SRH (sexual health reproductive) services and PrEP engagement, uptake and effective use thereof among sexually active adolescent girls and young women, their sexual partners and other key populations in Cape Town.”
She says the intervention is also looking to create a model to have a steady supply and increase uptake of oral PrEP through community awareness, specific messaging and support PrEP/SRH services.
KMPSS service areas include Mitchell’s Plain, the greater Athlone area, Hanover Park, Gugulethu and Crossroads, among others.
The colourful Tutu tester trucks will work in these areas on a rotational basis, says Stewart, and will not be a once-off initiative.
The initiative includes monthly follow-up visits for refills of the 28-day pill packs.
“PrEP is well tested. This is a behavioural study. We want to get as much PrEP as we can into the communities. This study is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in the United States of America (USA) and we will be here for another two and a half, three years,” she says.
The foundation has an established footprint in the Nyanga, Browns Farm and Khayelitsha areas, and with the permissions needed for the study having been granted by the Department of Health, the need for this intervention in KMPSS prompted the launch of this initiative.
“(The township) areas have a well-established service because people there are more open to talking about HIV exposure and sex. Here, there are different challenges. Drugs, gangsterism and crime, and people not talking about sex,” she says.
There is a great reluctance from parents to acknowledge that their children are having sex, especially unprotected sex, she says.
HIV counsellor with the foundation, Vuyisa Dumile, agrees that stigma holds many back from seeking treatment and testing.
“In the townships, people come to use the services without being asked. Many come with problems rather than questions and we are able to help them,” he says.
“In this community, there is still stigma holding people back, but we are trying to break that stigma.”
Community worker Glenn Hans says these initiatives go a long way in promoting health.
“There is a perception that people in Hanover Park do not care about their health and these partnerships help bring health awareness. Awareness is needed in the community,” he says.
Regarding the treatment, Hans says that no one can be too trusting and that PrEP is a tool to combat HIV.
Some of the common issues include broken condoms, unprotected sex as a result of intoxication and having multiple sexual partners.
Stewart says having multiple sexual partners is one of the main concerns, and PrEP assists in combatting exposure to HIV.
“Our counsellors also assist girls in negotiating. There is the pressure to ‘show me you love me’, which means sex and we offer them ways to negotiate this, rather than give in to the pressure,” she says.
Dumile says the best time to seek PrEP assistance is immediately after potential exposure.
HIV is one of the top three treated ailments in KMPSS.
Johnstone says there is a slightly higher instance of HIV treatment in the Klipfontein sector, as opposed to that in Mitchell’s Plain.
“The department is always aware of stigma and this particular model encourages a decentralised service to access PrEP, not only at facilities but also community-based facilities and spaces,” says Johnstone.
“We encourage all communities to know their status and request an HIV test at their nearest health care facility.”
