NIMART (Nurse Initiated Management of Antiretroviral Treatment)

As part of its vision to expand access to ART in 2010, the South African government implemented a plan that involved “task shifting” in the public health system.
In order for HIV care to function more efficiently as a comprehensive whole, Nurse Initiated Management of Antiretroviral Therapy (NIMART) was instituted. This involves doctors stepping down from what have become the more routine duties of HIV care, such as ART monitoring, adherence and dispensing, and training nurses to take the lead with these tasks instead.

As part of Anova’s continuing commitment to capacity building in South Africa’s public healthcare sector, the organisation welcomed the government’s decision on NIMART and jumped at the opportunity to assist through running training sessions.

In 2010 and 2011 Anova continued with its NIMART training in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and the Western Cape. Given government’s announcement earlier this year that HIV-positive clients now qualify for treatment earlier (at a CD4 count of 350 and no longer 200), demand for administering and monitoring treatment is likely to increase at healthcare facilities. Government has also indicated a renewed commitment to reach and treat all South Africans who should be on ART but who for various reasons are not. This is likely to further upscale the demand for nurses capable of initiating and monitoring treatment.

Given the opportunities and challenges facing HIV care in South Africa, Anova looks forward to continuing its NIMART partnership with government.