When its doors opened in 2002, Hannan Crusaid Treatment Centre became the first clinic in the Nyanga area to offer dedicated HIV treatment.
read moreThe clinic is a joint project between the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation and the Western Cape Department of Health and was funded largely by Crusaid, a UK-based NGO which raises funds to support people living with HIV/AIDS both domestically and abroad.
Although the antiretroviral treatment programme was initiated by the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation in September 2002, this dedicated clinic has provided the extra capacity to expand treatment to local adults and children living with HIV.
The team of doctors, clinical nurse practitioners and therapeutic counsellors have worked tirelessly to ensure that every patient referred for antiretroviral treatment has been adequately enrolled in the treatment programme.
By January 2007, over 3000 patients had been screened for ART and over 2300 had started treatment. This included 245 children, mostly referred from the Red Cross Children’s Hospital for initiation of antiretroviral therapy in the community, where they could receive appropriate social and psychological support.
The quality of care is reflected in the site statistics, with virological suppression rates of over 85% after one year on treatment and adherence levels of 94-98% which is comparable with the best in the world.
This is largely due to an innovative counseling programme, the Sizophila project, which enrolls and trains HIV positive patients to be therapeutic counselors and provide care for patients, both at the clinic and in their own homes.
Presently the Hannan Crusaid Clinic functions as one of two sentinel sites for the Western Cape Department of Health, with a data collection and processing system that allows for early and comprehensive reporting of adverse events and therapeutic outcomes.
Location
The Hannan Crusaid Treatment Centre is situated on the site of the Gugulethu Community Health Centre in the Nyanga district of Cape Town. The district has basic amenities and consists of both formal and informal housing sectors. Many of the ‘new’ settlements surrounding Gugulethu have predominantly informal housing, with high levels of crowding and poverty. In 2005, the Gugulethu/Nyanga district HIV prevalence rate was 29,1%, making it the second highest prevalence district in the province.
