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Home \  Project News \ Gathering More Knowledge and Experiences from TCE Zambia

Gathering More Knowledge and Experiences from TCE Zambia

Source:Humana People to People ChinaDate:2017-03-24 00:00:00Click:934

Maxwell Chigutsa and Yang Zhengqiang are working in the TCE Butuo project in Liangshan prefecture. (Maxwell Chigutsa is “Division Commander” – which mean the coordinator of several TCE-projects. Yang Zhengqiang is the “Troop Commander” – in charge of the TCE project in Butuo) The 2 of them travelled to Zambia for a 10 days information exchange program with Development Aid from People to People Zambia – a sister organization of Humana People to People China. Here they visited 2 TCE areas which is part of the project “TCE Zambia”. The reason for this visit was to learn and share experiences. The 2 visitors from China held meetings with TCE Lusaka Project Team introducing the aim of their visit and after that, they participated in field work where they together with TCE Lusaka Special Forces and Troop Commander carried out door to door visits. The major difference they witnessed as compared to China was that when it came to testing, it was actually the people in the community chasing the Field Officers to request for testing. In China it takes more mobilization by the Field Officer for people to accept testing.

The Field Officers in Zambia take their time when carrying out counseling sessions


Another key area that impressed the 2 visitors from TCE China was how the Field Officers reached out to prisoners, making sure that prisoners are not left out when it comes to HIV/AIDS awareness. Towards the end of the visit to TCE Lusaka, Maxwell Chigutsa and Yang Zhengqiang attended a Troop Meeting which was very lively and where Field Officers challenged and commented each other’s results in order for them to improve next time. Maxwell Chigutsa and Yang Zhengqiang agreed that the Troop Meetings in Butuo are less lively and the Field Officers not as active as in Zambia. So they agreed to copy some of these good examples and introduce them to the Field Officers improve this when returning to China.

Field Officers together with Yang Zhengqiang visited many places and shared their different experiences.

Apart from differences there were also similarities: Cooperation between clinics and Field Officers is as in Butuo also good in Zambia. This was witnessed by clinic leaders in Lusaka who explained that because of the TCE program the clinics had managed to reach out to more people with information compared to previous years.  The clinic leaders said the Field Officers are their eyes, ears and mouths and this helps a lot on their goal to achieve health for all in the community.

The two representatives from China made a presentation about TCE China, ideas, areas which the project is working in, the Field Officers’ capacity, results and plans. They also told about the HIV/AIDS situation in both China as a country, Liangshan Prefecture and Butuo County where TCE is operating.

It is easy to identify the TCE Field Officers by their uniforms

The 2nd part of Maxwell and Yang Zhengqiang’s visit in TCE Zambia was to visit TCE Sinazongwe in the Southern Province of Zambia. TCE Sinazongwe is in the rural part of the Southern Province and the challenges faced by the project are similar to those TCE Butuo faces.


The 2 teams also exchanged ideas on how to solve the challenges of long distances in the areas they work in. The Zambia Team explained that they provide bicycles for their staff whilst TCE Butuo provides transport money. TCE Zambia further explained that the Special Forces when visiting these distant places mobilize headmasters and clinic leaders to accommodate them. This is easily done because the top officials in the Southern Province are mobilised and teach their subordinates to accept the TCE Program. The Field Officers are accommodated in the central parts of their fields, so that the distance to the furthest households is as short as possible. This also makes the Field Officer the focal person in his/her field and they can be reached with ease. Another point that makes the Field Officer to be easily identified is the constant wearing of their uniform and that they always update the local clinic nurses where they work.


The Field Officers for China also wear uniforms and they are easily accessible as they come from the township where they work and live within the community.


TCE Zambia’s cooperation between clinic staff and Field Officers is very good, which means that whenever the Field Officers test someone HIV positive it will take a maximum of 3 days for that person to be in the Treatment System at the clinic and hospital.


The hospital in Zambia also has mobile units to reach HIV+ people who live in very remote places so that they can easily get more medication. Lessons are also given out at the clinics and the hospital before patients take their medicine. One on one discussions are held between Field Officers (or Nurses) and patients. These discussions are about the effect of taking ART. Other patients also give testimonies on why it is necessary to take the drugs as prescribed.

Every Field Officer is able to reach out to all people in his/her field.

Upon their return to China, Maxwell and Yang Zhengqiang presented their experiences in Zambia on a Troop Meeting. They used pictures, Power Point and short video clips they had collected in Zambia to make the Field Officers understand what they had encountered. By seeing the activities in practice the Field Officers were inspired. They encouraged the Field Officers to copy and improve from some of these examples and to discuss and challenge each other in terms of results.


They concluded that exchange visits gives both the visitors and the hosts benefit as they learn from each other.


A brief summary of the project:

TCE Butuo is a 3.5 years HIV/AIDS project operating in Butuo County, Liangshan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. The idea of the project during the 3.5 years campaign is to achieve total control of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Butuo County reaching out to a population of 100 000 people. The project does one on one, door to door visits to all villagers reaching out to them with health education, mobilization and voluntary home based counseling and testing. The project furthermore involves a Passionate Network and training of local leaders and influential people who support in information dissemination and mobilization work. Health education provided by the project includes HIV/AIDS knowledge, basic knowledge about STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases), mobilizing pregnant women for prenatal care and hospital delivery, providing condoms and explaining condom use to the sexually active singles and couples.

 
This project is funded by EU and HPP Baltic.
This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents  of this publication are the solo responsibility of the Butuo Women Federation TCE Project  and can in no way be taken to reflect  the view of the Europen Union.

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