Over 500 traditional health practitioners (THPs) are set to graduate tomorrow in a (graduation) ceremony hosted by the University and the KwaZulu-Natal Health Department.
The graduation will begin tomorrow (8 July 2014) at the Osizweni Community Hall in Newcastle with the Tentative Programme Stakeholder’s Meeting. On Thursday and Friday (10-11 July 2014), the official graduation ceremonies will take place at the Edumbe Municipal Hall and at the Belgrade Community Hall (Pongola) respectively.
The graduation comes after the University Research Co. LLC (URC) funded project trained 520 Traditional Health Practitioners. The project came shortly after South Africa adopted a policy of Primary Health Care Re-engineering. The policy states that primary healthcare should be sustained by integrated, functional and mutually supportive referral systems leading to the progressive improvement of comprehensive healthcare for all, and giving priority to those in most need.
This project has trained 520 THPs who have reached 22 715 patients/clients in eight months. Of these, 1 085 (+-5%) patients were screened for TB/HIV and referred to local clinics. During training, THPs requested to be offered HIV counseling and testing or medical circumcision services and were provided with N95 masks (masks that prevent healthcare workers from getting tuberculosis) for infection prevention and control. Anecdotal information from THPs is that they offer directly observed therapy adherence support to 145 patients. A referral form, patient register and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) reporting tool have been developed. The referral form was adopted by the Amajuba Health District by including it in the district’s new Referral Policy.
At the end of the project, 14 THPs were appointed to serve on the Ward AIDS Committees (WACs) of the uPhongolo Municipality, five in WACs at the Edumbe Municipality, seven in 10 WACs of Dannhauser Municipality and five in five WACs of Newcastle Municipality.
All the graduating THPs are now participating in the KZN Provincial AIDS Council, District AIDS Councils and Local Municipal AIDS Councils in their areas.
The details of the events are as follows:
– Event: Tentative Programme Stakeholders Meeting
Venue: Osizweni Community Hall, Newcastle
Time: 9am
Date: 08 July 2014
– Event: Traditional Healers Graduation Ceremony (Day 1)
Venue: Edumbe Municipal Hall, Dumbe Municipality
Time: 10am
Date: 10 July 2014
– Event: Traditional Healers Graduation Ceremony (Day 2)
Venue: Belgrade Community Hall, UPhongolo Municipality
Time: 10am
Date: 11 July 2014
– Noxolo Memela
