Anova bolsters TB care at Zola

Melissa Meyer - 20 January 2012

For the community of Zola in Soweto the partnership between the provincial health department and the Anova Health Institute has already been paying dividends in the form of free and safe medical male circumcision.

Now residents will also be able to access comprehensive TB treatment and care in a newly refurbished wing of the Zola Community Health Centre.

Following a complete renovation, Anova handed over the keys to a newly-upgraded TB facility this week.

“This is an example of the power of partnership. Our staff now have a brand new space from which to treat patients. It’s something we’re all very excited about,” said Mariah Mazibuko, Deputy Director for Programmes in Region D1, Joburg Metro, who accepted the keys on behalf of the provincial health department.

Among others, the revamped facility will provide integrated HIV and TB care and patients will be able to collect their medication directly from the health care workers in the wing.

Mazibuko believes it will make the Zola Clinic, which already has a cure rate of nearly 95 per cent, even more effective at treating TB.

Anova completed the upgrade of the TB wing in record time, a feat that project manager Dr. Cephas Chikanda is extremely pleased with.

The renovation of the TB facility is but one example of how Anova continues to build capacity and provide support by responding directly to specific needs within the public healthcare system.

Much of the success of this approach can be attributed to good communication and close cooperation with the regional health department. “Working with the team at Zola Clinic continues to be a pleasure for Anova staff,” explained Anova Executive Director Prof. James McIntyre at the opening.

The overriding message on the day was a clear one: capacity building and systems strengthening through partnership can be highly effective. And it is a model with potential for implementation elsewhere.  

Associated Director of Region D1, Gugulethu Dlamini, summarised the spirit of the day effectively in her closing remarks: “Zola is leading, everyone else will be following”.