In March 2021, Dr John Blandford (CDC Country Director), led a delegation to Xhora CHC and Stanford clinic in Amathole and OR Tambo districts, respectively, to review the status of both facilities in the implementation of 95-95-95 indicators. Before the facility visit, an in-brief meeting was convened and attended by a provincial, district and facility delegation. The delegation presented the approach, facility profile, facility performance, and best practices together with challenges that impede the progress towards reaching the UNAIDS targets. Dr Blandford emphasised that the visit aimed at understanding the current operations around TB and HIV services.
Facility staff were interviewed around the processes of upscaling TB and HIV testing, which they explained is done by:
• administering a risk screening tool
• a targeted approach in testing the right individuals who are at risk of acquiring TB and HIV
• index testing services and HIVSS
The delegation was impressed by both facilities’ performance and suggested that the best practices from these teams be rapidly expanded in other facilities. These included the Men’s Corners, Coach Mpilo project and MINA campaign which all target men, who have a higher HIV positivity yield (22%) compared to their female counterparts (9%).
