Chitungwiza Utano Community Partnership Project

The Chitungwiza Utano (Public Health) Community Partnership Project evolved from the former W.K. Kellogg Foundation funded community partnership in health project and has been sponsored by the USA Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Zim. CDC) since October 2002.

The mission of the Chitungwiza Utano Community Partnership Project is to improve the health and welfare of the Chitungwiza community through a partnership that serves as a model for comprehensive HIV/AIDS care by:

• empowering community members
• training health personnel
• supporting the existing public and non-governmental efforts

The overall aim of the Utano Partnership is to expand and intensify the response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic at municipal level. This is achieved specifically by improving coordination of a variety of HIV/AIDS related services within the community to expand uptake and sustainability of treatments for HIV positive women presenting to prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programs as well as their families. It initially supports those efforts targeted at the management of opportunistic infections including TB treatment, and pneumonia prevention. Later on it will also support antiretroviral therapy when that becomes part of the national HIV/AIDS care program.

Ongoing Activities

• Support laboratory services at the referral hospital and at local polyclinics for better management of HIV/AIDS
• Facilitate access to essential drugs particularly drugs for opportunistic infections and antiretrovirals
• Implementing psychosocial support services through the community center
• Developing an information system for data sharing among public and non-governmental HIV/AIDS care programs
• Training of caregivers in home based care for HIV/AIDS, TB, and other medical conditions
• Providing counseling, health education, medicines awareness, and adherence support services through field workers
• Facilitating meetings and other community activities related to HIV/AIDS prevention and care
• Providing clinical attachment sites to promote multi-disciplinary community-based teaching of medical, pharmacy, nursing, and other health professions students.

Pictures Taken in 2005