This article is interesting because it talks about the dificulty of taking specimens and samples to hospitals. I've noted the paragraph in bold.
The Swazi Observer
Protect babies from HIV - Lewis
By Timothy Simelane
VISITING United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy Stephen Lewis has called for urgent action to address lack of a programme on Prevention of Mother-to-Child Treatment (PMTCT) at the Sithobelweni Health Centre.
Lewis said despite the tremendous success the centre had made in the fight against HIV and AIDS, shortage of the PMTCT facility was a major set back.
He said the issue would be on his priority list when he meets Minister of Health and Social Welfare Chief Sipho Shongwe before leaving the country today.
The PMTCT helps prevent transmission of HIV from the mother to the child during birth.
“The child should not be infected with the virus just because its mother is living with HIV,” Lewis stated, addressing the centre’s staff and members of the community.
Meanwhile, Lewis also decried lack of a laboratory technician at the centre.
He said taking specimen and blood samples to hospitals in the cities was cumbersome and costly in terms of time and money.
“I have been made aware of the pressure you face working in this health centre. However, I am impressed that despite such, you work very hard to maintain the desired health standard.
“I was told that the hospital is responsible for the health of 20 000 people in this area. It was also said that about 300 people were on anti-retroviral treatment (ART), which is dispensed by the centre.
I have also heard that there are between six and 16 people who visit the voluntary testing and counselling centre, which is interesting,” he added.
Meanwhile, Senior Medical Officer (SMO) Dr Mohamed Kamal said the introduction of ART was a significant improvement in services provided by the centre.
Dr Kamal said the HIV prevalence rate was high in the area, calling for the services rendered by the centre to be improved.
“I wish to thank the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare which has always helped us whenever we had difficulty.
“At least 90 percent of nurses were trained for the ART programme and we have been working closely with the community to see how effective our programmes operated,” he said.
He, however, decried lack of transport, which he said was a stumbling block to the execution of some of the services.
Dr. Kamal thereafter promised that the centre would compile a comprehensive report detailing the statistics on people treated for HIV and the effectiveness of the services rendered by the centre.
The constituency headman, Enock Mamba, welcomed the visit by Lewis and said HIV was a serious problem in the area, which warranted desperate measures.
