Clinic Update Part 1 July 2021

28 July 2021 | Shannen Harte

Dear Sponsors & Friends,

Once again, we find ourselves in a Covid-19 challenging environment. We are officially in the third wave under level 4 lockdown which has been a terrible turn for our country where we were previously in level 1. 

We are seeing many more patients wanting to come to our clinic due to other government clinics swamped with covid cases or a lack of medical supplies. We have also noticed an increase in the number of patients on TB and HIV medication defaulting on their treatment due to a number of reasons, sometimes it is as simple as not having food to eat. We are also seeing a rise in the number of babies visiting our clinic with their grandmothers, aunties, or extended family members requesting help with baby formula as they have been abandoned by their mothers. We find that this is either due to economic circumstances or due to abuse experienced in the home. 

Covid has brought an increase in rape, domestic violence, and an increase in alcohol and drug abuse. Fathers and mothers have lost their jobs, causing stress to be at an all-time high. Many of the patients we see visiting our clinic say that they are so grateful to have somewhere to come and get help if they need it, even just to have someone to talk to, which gives them hope. 

We say a very special thank you to all for the continued support in providing us with PPE protective wear against Covid, without which we would not be able to do our work. Vaccine rollout remains slow due to a number of problems, some including fear to take the vaccine due to misinformation and rumours as well as access to the vaccine and sufficient cold storage space.

We are now amid Winter and with that has come another Covid variant, the people in rural areas face the most difficulty getting the vaccine because of the areas in which they live and the difficulty of them getting to health care facilities. Our caregivers continue to provide health care education on the prevention of Covid 19 and information relating to the vaccine.