The Latest News from VIGH

Dramatic reduction in specimen turnaround time and access to thousands of viral load results offers significant life-saving opportunities Viral load sample verification Photo credit: Rui Esmael

Zambézia increased the number of people living with HIV, achieving an undetectable viral load Twenty-seven year old Marcos Gabriel lives in Zambézia Province with his wife and three children. To earn his family’s daily bread he dedicates himself to mining, a job that demands health and strength.

New HIV Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) Point-of-Care (POC) device provides early diagnosis for children in Maganja da Costa District Nurse Jordina Moreira Photo credit: Mariana Lobo

Leocádia cooking in her backyard Photographer: Abú Choe  

Intensive Monitoring of Provider-Initiated Counseling & Testing (PICT) Performance Improves the Identification of People Living with HIV in Namacurra​
 
 
 

The 2018 Jornadas Nacionais de Saúde (National Health Days) scientific conference was held in Maputo, Mozambique from September 17 through 20, 2018. This conference occurs every three years, and is a gathering of clinicians, researchers and scientists, academics, and policymakers operating in the national health system of Mozambique. The scientific program included oral and poster presentations on a range of health-related issues specific to Mozambique. The theme for this year was “Promoting Intersectional and Community Participation to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals.”


 
 The 22nd International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2018) was held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands from July 23 through July 27, 2018. This conference is the premier world-wide gathering for those working in the field of HIV, including researchers and clinicians as well as policymakers, people living with HIV, and activists. Friends in Global Health (FGH) team members were in attendance to present their work, and to learn and engage with others committed to ending the epidemic.

Belito Adolfo has been working for Friends in Global Health (FGH) since 2014. He was promoted to District Coordinator in January 2017, just as VUMC/FGH began supporting the Quelimane District. This new position was the biggest challenge of his professional career. In his new role he works with larger, urban health facilities handling higher patient volumes. With the increased responsibilities, he recognizes the importance of his work and being team member.

Eighteen-year-old Ina Mora was in the district of Gilé visiting her husband’s family when she began feeling ill in May 2017. “Sometimes I had headaches, stomach aches and diarrhea. Both my legs got swollen and I got sick,” recalls Ina.

Male Champions Bring Couples Closer Together  “I was always sick and tired. I could barely do anything,” Laurinda Emiliano tells us during an interview. Laurinda, 19, lives in the Bairro Cimento within the village of Zalala, Quelimane District, Zambézia Province.

The Impact of Community-Based Information, Education and Communication Initiatives and Importance of Community Adherence Support Groups 
 
 Abudo Nicuacua was diagnosed with HIV in 2006. Today, Abudo is an antiretroviral treatment (ART) adherence role model, but this was not always the case.

Sangariveira Secondary School: A DREAMS-Friendly School
 
 Sangariveira Secondary School (SSS) was established in 2012 in Quelimane, Zambézia Province. Currently, the school has 4,980 students, 2,610 male and 2,370 female, who are divided into 42 groups, with morning, afternoon and night student rotations.
 
 Located in the outskirts of Quelimane, SSS has a gloomy past. It was infamous for high levels of drug use, early and unwanted pregnancies, prostitution, and illness. 

Health Counselors Improve Patient Satisfaction in Quelimane
 
 Farias Fernando Romane recently moved from the Coalane neighborhood to Canecos, within Quelimane District. The move meant that he also changed the health facility where he receives HIV care. When our team met him, it was only his second visit to 24 de Julho Health Center. He was already pleased with the quality of care he has been receiving.

Teletónio Samuel Rangeiro is a married 23 year old who lives with his wife, Hernésia Tomé, 22, in Seresse, a rural community outside of Zambézia’s provincial capital of Quelimane. When Teletónio’s wife became pregnant, he surprised many people in his community by accompanying his wife to all of her antenatal care (ANC) visits at the Maquival health facility and continued doing so after the delivery of their healthy twins—an unusual practice for men in this community.

By Rui Esmael
 
 Dreams Can Come True: Over a decade on combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) with two HIV-uninfected daughters


 
 Dr. Matsimbe visits a health facility in Quelimane with the team. Photo: Cleofas Viagem
 
 Rui Esmael
 
 
 “The bigger the challenge, the more opportunities to get things done.” – Dr. Julieta Matsimbe

In the rich farmlands of Birua Village, in Furquia Locality, Namacurra District, Zambézia Province, lives 52 year old Paulina Raposo. She has been a traditional birth attendant for 36 years.

"The health counselor is the key member of the team. They are the true pillar. It is with the health counselor that patients have their first contact, on which everything else depends."
 
 ~Mauro Timana – Chefe Médico at Mocubela