09 Dec 2014

Members of the regional project steering committee for the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and HIV met in Botswana to review progress on the project.

The 4^th regional project steering committee meeting was meant to enable the countries to link efforts on integration of SRHR and HIV better and scale them up effectively.

It was also mandated for members to work together to lead their countries to fully integrate HIV and SRHR into national health and boarder development strategies and budgets.

Countries in the SRHR/HIV linkages pilot project include Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Speaking at the two day meeting, deputy permanent secretary for  preventive services, Ministry of Health, Ms Shenaaz El-Halabi said if the countries could focus on the benefits of linking SRHR and HIV, they would overcome the challenges that still remained.

Such challenges include vertical policies, systems, programmes, services, funding and monitoring and evaluation tools.

Ms El-Halabi said some of the benefits of integrating services were better access of tailored SRHR services for people living with HIV, improved access to and uptake of key HIV and SRHR services and better utilization of scarce human resources for health.

Other benefits include better utilization of scarce human resources for health, decreased duplication of efforts and competition for scarce resources, enhanced programme effectiveness and efficiency and reduced costs from reduction in duplicating services.

Midwife Nurse and SHRH and HIV coordinator for the Kgatleng DHMT, Ms Galaletsang Mudongo said bringing together sexual reproductive health and rights and HIV services had improved effectiveness and efficiency by offering clients a one-stop service delivery point.

She said the integration had widened access of services and also led to reduced stigma in people living with HIV. ENDS