Farmers set up mobile clinics for HIV workers

HIV-Positive farm workers in Mpumalanga no longer have to travel far to collect antiretroviral drugs, thanks to 40 timber farmers who pulled together to set up mobile clinics.

Farmer Johann Engelbrecht, manager of the Thol'ulwazi Thol'impilo programme, said: "By 2005 we had probably lost between five and 10 workers. We felt that we needed to do something."

A church in Germany donated money to the farmers in the Commondale district to set up the project, which began as an HIV-training programme. But Engelbrecht realised, that even if people knew about HIV they were unlikely to get tested for it

"We were sitting with a problem. Tests were available only at the hospital in town, which meant an employee would have to take a day off, find a lift and pay for a taxi into town," he said.

Commondale, near the Swaziland border, is 36km from Piet Retief. The farmers raised money and bought a panel van, which they converted into a mobile clinic with two compartments: one for counselling and HIV testing, the other equipped with a scale, blood-pressure monitor, bed, medicines fridge and medicines storage cupboards.

The unit is staffed by a provincial health nurse and an Aids counsellor, paid by the farmers.

The mobile clinic began dispensing ARVs last month after the farmers found that their HIV-positive workers did not want to take days off and pay for taxis to the Piet Retief Hospital to collect their medication every month.

"They had to walk to the nearest road, then try to catch a taxi and then get to town and wait in the hospital queue, very often not being helped," said Engelbrecht.

Now "we are now able to hand out the ARVs to the patients on our farms", he said.