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Zimbabwe, home-based care projects

 In Zimbabwe, deteriorating economic conditions, a crumbling health system and high HIV prevalence are resulting in many thousands of people needing care and support. Home-based care programs, such as those provided by Oxfam Australia's partners Zimbabwe Women Against HIV/AIDS, Poverty and Violence Trust (ZWAAPV) and Batsiranai Home Based Care, are often the only source of support for people living with HIV and AIDS and those who care for them. These programs rely on hundreds of volunteer caregivers who work with minimal resources and are often poor, have large families or are living with HIV.  Batsiranai has 252 volunteer caregivers who provide home-based care to about 500 men and women living with HIV and AIDS in remote parts of Mashonaland East province. During home visits, caregivers share their skills and knowledge with the primary family carer to strengthen the patient's quality of care. While most home-based care organisations struggle to involve men in care activities, 75 of Batsiranai's caregivers (about one third) are men.  The volunteer caregivers at Batsiranai receive incentives such as uniforms, raincoats and soap. The uniforms help to identify the caregivers and give them a sense of personal pride and belonging. Batsiranai has also bought bicycles for its home-based care supervisors to help them cover the long distances they need to travel to monitor caregivers' work.  ZWAAPV's work originally targeted commercial sex workers due to their high risk of HIV infection. The program focused on alternative livelihoods, behaviour change and safer health practices. The worsening HIV epidemic prompted ZWAAPV to expand its work to include home-based care and support for orphans and also target other community members who are living with HIV and AIDS. The organisation has 81 volunteer caregivers who visit 500 patients each week.  With Zimbabwe's rapidly deteriorating economy and rising unemployment, many families are simply not getting enough food to stay healthy. As the home-based care work is voluntary, ZWAAPV supports caregivers to establish income-generating projects such as vegetable gardens, soap-making, fabric tie-dying and trading stands. ZWAAPV provides small loans for members to establish their businesses, training in business selection, management and administration and ongoing mentoring and support.  Caregivers visit each patient about two to three times per week. Their tasks may include bathing the patient, treating bed sores, providing emotional support, controlling infection, training family members to provide care, dispensing basic medicines, monitoring medication intake, educating family members in nutrition and HIV prevention, changing bed linen or helping the patient write a will.  Caregivers often provide respite for family members who are responsible for a patient's day-to-day care. They may help with household chores such as cleaning, preparing food and fetching water, especially in child-headed households, or simply stay with a patient to enable family members to attend to other things.  Spiwe Maulidi, of Mhosva village, was among the first caregivers Batsiranai trained in 2001.   Good nutrition is essential for people living with HIV. Batsiranai has supported caregivers to establish vegetable gardens where they grow foods such as maize, onions, cucumbers, carrots, garlic, sweet potato, tomatoes and herbs. Once harvested, the caregivers give the produce to orphans or those receiving care, sell it to buy food or pay for other basic necessities, or keep it to feed their families. The caregivers also encourage the families they visit to grow vegetables near their homes.  When Batsiranai's male caregivers first started doing home-based care work, they faced negativity, criticism and discrimination from their families and communities. In traditional Zimbabwean culture, caring for people who are sick and dying is deemed to be   Each caregiver is given a home-based care kit to carry out their work. The kits contain soap, saline solution, linen savers, bleach, cotton wool, towns, vitamins, condoms, Vaseline, gloves, aprons bandages and basic medicines such as oral dehydration powder, iron tablets, tuberculosis medication, antiseptic and calamine lotion. The kits are replenished monthly. 
 
In Zimbabwe, deteriorating economic conditions, a crumbling health system and high HIV prevalence are resulting in many thousands of people needing care and support. Home-based care programs, such as those provided by Oxfam Australia's partners Zimbabwe Women Against HIV/AIDS, Poverty and Violence Trust (ZWAAPV) and Batsiranai Home Based Care, are often the only source of support for people living with HIV and AIDS and those who care for them. These programs rely on hundreds of volunteer caregivers who work with minimal resources and are often poor, have large families or are living with HIV.

Photo: William Nyamuchengwa/OxfamAUS

In Zimbabwe, deteriorating economic conditions, a crumbling health system and high HIV prevalence are resulting in many thousands of people needing care and support. Home-based care programs, such as those provided by Oxfam Australia's partners Zimbabwe Women Against HIV/AIDS, Poverty and Violence Trust (ZWAAPV) and Batsiranai Home Based Care, are often the only source of support for people living with HIV and AIDS and those who care for them. These programs rely on hundreds of volunteer caregivers who work with minimal resources and are often poor, have large families or are living with HIV.

Batsiranai has 252 volunteer caregivers who provide home-based care to about 500 men and women living with HIV and AIDS in remote parts of Mashonaland East province. During home visits, caregivers share their skills and knowledge with the primary family carer to strengthen the patient's quality of care. While most home-based care organisations struggle to involve men in care activities, 75 of Batsiranai's caregivers (about one third) are men.

Photo: William Nyamuchengwa/OxfamAUS

Batsiranai has 252 volunteer caregivers who provide home-based care to about 500 men and women living with HIV and AIDS in remote parts of Mashonaland East province. During home visits, caregivers share their skills and knowledge with the primary family carer to strengthen the patient's quality of care. While most home-based care organisations struggle to involve men in care activities, 75 of Batsiranai's caregivers (about one third) are men.

The volunteer caregivers at Batsiranai receive incentives such as uniforms, raincoats and soap. The uniforms help to identify the caregivers and give them a sense of personal pride and belonging. Batsiranai has also bought bicycles for its home-based care supervisors to help them cover the long distances they need to travel to monitor caregivers' work.

Photo: William Nyamuchengwa/OxfamAUS

The volunteer caregivers at Batsiranai receive incentives such as uniforms, raincoats and soap. The uniforms help to identify the caregivers and give them a sense of personal pride and belonging. Batsiranai has also bought bicycles for its home-based care supervisors to help them cover the long distances they need to travel to monitor caregivers' work.

ZWAAPV's work originally targeted commercial sex workers due to their high risk of HIV infection. The program focused on alternative livelihoods, behaviour change and safer health practices. The worsening HIV epidemic prompted ZWAAPV to expand its work to include home-based care and support for orphans and also target other community members who are living with HIV and AIDS. The organisation has 81 volunteer caregivers who visit 500 patients each week.

Photo: William Nyamuchengwa/OxfamAUS

ZWAAPV's work originally targeted commercial sex workers due to their high risk of HIV infection. The program focused on alternative livelihoods, behaviour change and safer health practices. The worsening HIV epidemic prompted ZWAAPV to expand its work to include home-based care and support for orphans and also target other community members who are living with HIV and AIDS. The organisation has 81 volunteer caregivers who visit 500 patients each week.

With Zimbabwe's rapidly deteriorating economy and rising unemployment, many families are simply not getting enough food to stay healthy. As the home-based care work is voluntary, ZWAAPV supports caregivers to establish income-generating projects such as vegetable gardens, soap-making, fabric tie-dying and trading stands. ZWAAPV provides small loans for members to establish their businesses, training in business selection, management and administration and ongoing mentoring and support.

Photo: William Nyamuchengwa/OxfamAUS

With Zimbabwe's rapidly deteriorating economy and rising unemployment, many families are simply not getting enough food to stay healthy. As the home-based care work is voluntary, ZWAAPV supports caregivers to establish income-generating projects such as vegetable gardens, soap-making, fabric tie-dying and trading stands. ZWAAPV provides small loans for members to establish their businesses, training in business selection, management and administration and ongoing mentoring and support.

Caregivers visit each patient about two to three times per week. Their tasks may include bathing the patient, treating bed sores, providing emotional support, controlling infection, training family members to provide care, dispensing basic medicines, monitoring medication intake, educating family members in nutrition and HIV prevention, changing bed linen or helping the patient write a will.

Photo: William Nyamuchengwa/OxfamAUS

Caregivers visit each patient about two to three times per week. Their tasks may include bathing the patient, treating bed sores, providing emotional support, controlling infection, training family members to provide care, dispensing basic medicines, monitoring medication intake, educating family members in nutrition and HIV prevention, changing bed linen or helping the patient write a will.

Caregivers often provide respite for family members who are responsible for a patient's day-to-day care. They may help with household chores such as cleaning, preparing food and fetching water, especially in child-headed households, or simply stay with a patient to enable family members to attend to other things.

Photo: William Nyamuchengwa/OxfamAUS

Caregivers often provide respite for family members who are responsible for a patient's day-to-day care. They may help with household chores such as cleaning, preparing food and fetching water, especially in child-headed households, or simply stay with a patient to enable family members to attend to other things.

Spiwe Maulidi, of Mhosva village, was among the first caregivers Batsiranai trained in 2001.

Photo: William Nyamuchengwa/OxfamAUS

Spiwe Maulidi, of Mhosva village, was among the first caregivers Batsiranai trained in 2001. "I teach family members to care for the patients, help them with washing and dispense medicines and give them love. I also help them to write a will. Family members feel very comfortable with our work. Through the knowledge we are giving them, they are able to continue caring for the patients when we are not there."

Good nutrition is essential for people living with HIV. Batsiranai has supported caregivers to establish vegetable gardens where they grow foods such as maize, onions, cucumbers, carrots, garlic, sweet potato, tomatoes and herbs. Once harvested, the caregivers give the produce to orphans or those receiving care, sell it to buy food or pay for other basic necessities, or keep it to feed their families. The caregivers also encourage the families they visit to grow vegetables near their homes.

Photo: William Nyamuchengwa/OxfamAUS

Good nutrition is essential for people living with HIV. Batsiranai has supported caregivers to establish vegetable gardens where they grow foods such as maize, onions, cucumbers, carrots, garlic, sweet potato, tomatoes and herbs. Once harvested, the caregivers give the produce to orphans or those receiving care, sell it to buy food or pay for other basic necessities, or keep it to feed their families. The caregivers also encourage the families they visit to grow vegetables near their homes.

When Batsiranai's male caregivers first started doing home-based care work, they faced negativity, criticism and discrimination from their families and communities. In traditional Zimbabwean culture, caring for people who are sick and dying is deemed to be

Photo: William Nyamuchengwa/OxfamAUS

When Batsiranai's male caregivers first started doing home-based care work, they faced negativity, criticism and discrimination from their families and communities. In traditional Zimbabwean culture, caring for people who are sick and dying is deemed to be "women's work". However, through practical experience, the support of village leaders and discussions at community meetings, the men have gradually gained acceptance in their role.

Each caregiver is given a home-based care kit to carry out their work. The kits contain soap, saline solution, linen savers, bleach, cotton wool, towns, vitamins, condoms, Vaseline, gloves, aprons bandages and basic medicines such as oral dehydration powder, iron tablets, tuberculosis medication, antiseptic and calamine lotion. The kits are replenished monthly.

Photo: Penny Gorman/OxfamAUS

Each caregiver is given a home-based care kit to carry out their work. The kits contain soap, saline solution, linen savers, bleach, cotton wool, towns, vitamins, condoms, Vaseline, gloves, aprons bandages and basic medicines such as oral dehydration powder, iron tablets, tuberculosis medication, antiseptic and calamine lotion. The kits are replenished monthly.