JUST PUNCH IN CODE TO GET ARVS, CONTRACEPTIVES FROM E-LOCKERS

MBABANE – Accessing antiretroviral (ARVs) drugs has been made much more convenient.

At the click of a button, one can get the drugs from an e-locker. This is courtesy of the Elizabeth Glaser Paediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) and ASPIRE. ASPIRE is the Action to Sustain Precision and Integrated HIV Response towards Epidemic Control. The e-lockers operate like an ATM, where a client punches in their personal identification number (PIN). Currently, the service is available in two regions; Hhohho and Shiselweni. They can be accessed in Pigg’s Peak, Mbabane, Hlatikhulu and Matsanjeni. Explaining the technology, EGPAF/ASPIRE Project Dr Christopher Makwindi said the e-locker services, also known as the fast-track model, were suitable for clients who were not sick and did not require to see a doctor. This service, he stated, was faster and more convenient for the clients.

Machines

Makwindi said the e-lockers were smart lockers and in layman’s terms, were similar to ATMs which provided specific medication, including ART, contraceptives, PrEP and also provided cervical cancer services among others. Makwindi stated that they were also known as Lulameds automated dispensing machines. He said clients received codes and when they arrived at the facilities with the service, they went straight to the e-lockers to punch their assigned codes. “When you approach the locker, you put in your code and one of the lockers opens and provides the specific medication which has been requested.” Makwindi said when they sent the codes to the clients; they were already customised as per the medication assigned to the e-locker.

According to Makwindi, the service was aimed at reducing the queues in health facilities. He said to ensure that the service was sustainable, even after foreign-donor support had been withdrawn, they were working together with the Ministry of Health. According to Makwindi, people who qualified for the automated machines include clinically stable adults and children and adolescents above 12 years, who have been on antiretrovial therapy (ART) for 12 months or longer. He said clients should have a suppressed viral load for two consecutive viral load results, with the latest one taken within a period of six months. They should not have current TB or opportunistic infections or any adverse drug effects. The client should not be pregnant and should not have any other medical condition requiring frequent clinical consultations. Also, they should have at least two ART visits at the facility and good adherence to care, honouring clinic appointments.

Makwindi stated that to register, the client should provide their full name and surname, identity document (ID) or passport, a unique identifier if available, or CMIS number or ART number and a valid cellphone number. Makwindi further mentioned that they were now able to provide ART, contraceptives, PrEP and cervical cancer services through their Community Commodity Distribution (CCD). Through the programme, he said they were able to offer a range of services in order to ensure that the drugs were easily accessible. The e-lockers are designed in such a way that the drugs are accessed by the client who is allocated the password and they change them each time someone wants to access the medication. This, he said, was aimed at bringing treatment closer to the communities, an initiative which was started during the COVID-19 pandemic, where they wanted to ensure that people were not defaulting on treatment. He said they started the programme after the total lockdown, during the COVID-19 pandemic, in order for people to access services closer to their communities. Such, he said, was aimed at preventing defaulting on medication, especially ART.

Recipients

Makwindi stated that the service was done after conducting a study to establish the appetite of the recipients of the service as there was a great need. He added that they did not only limit the service to ART because they wanted to minimise stigma, hence they provided a package. According to Makwindi, they continued to provide the service even after COVID-19. To make the project sustainable, he stated that they have been able to find the hard-to-reach communities where people benefitted from the service.

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