Zimbabwe: Peer counselling helps youth stick to their HIV treatment (Global Press Journal)

| November 25, 2022

Download this story

News Brief

Michelle of Harare, Zimbabwe was put on antiretroviral treatment when she was a child. At the time, neither her grandmother nor stepmother explained why she took the medication. So, as she grew older, Michelle quit her treatment. Antiretroviral treatment has proven effective in the suppression of HIV among adults globally. And yet, following the treatment is a challenge for children and adolescents (ages 10-19) because of stigma, stress, side effects, treatment fatigue, and lack of awareness and support. However, peer support groups like the Community Adolescent Treatment Supporters train youth ages 18-24 to support their fellow youth living with HIV through group sessions, home visits, and WhatsApp group chats. The group allowed Michelle to ask for help without shame. Now 21, Michelle is in better health and is training to become a counselor herself.

Michelle of Harare, Zimbabwe was put on antiretroviral treatment when she was a child. Although she didn’t know it at the time, the medication was life-long therapy that would protect her from AIDS-related illnesses and death, as well as prevent her from spreading HIV to others. But the medication made her feel weak, a common side effect, and Michelle was unable to play with other children. She remembers crying for days on end, wishing her mother—who died when she was born—was alive to explain what was going on.

At the time, neither her grandmother nor stepmother explained to Michelle why she took the medication. So, as she grew older, Michelle quit her treatment, not knowing how it would affect her health. She only recalls wanting to be like all the other kids. She says, “I used to take the pills and flush them in the toilet.”

Antiretroviral treatment has proven effective in the suppression of HIV among adults globally. And yet, following the treatment is a challenge for children and adolescents (ages 10-19) like Michelle because of stigma, stress, side effects, treatment fatigue, and lack of awareness and support. However, peer counseling programs can help to connect youth living with HIV to support one another in continuing treatment.

Zvandiri is a non-profit organization based in Zimbabwe that works with young people living with HIV. The organization runs a peer support group called the Community Adolescent Treatment Supporters which trains youth ages 18-24 to support their fellow youth living with HIV through group sessions, home visits, and WhatsApp group chats.

It’s what has helped Michelle cope with her situation. One year after she stopped taking her antiretroviral treatment, Michelle took a viral load test, which detects the amount of HIV in the blood. Her result was the highest the facility had ever recorded. A high viral load makes it harder for the body to fight infection, thereby increasing the risk of illness.

A nurse recommended that Michelle join the Community Adolescent Treatment Supporters’ WhatsApp group. By that time, Michelle says she had become a recluse for fear of judgement. She says, “I did not want to be around people as [they] now knew about my [HIV] status.”

The group allowed Michelle to ask for help without shame, and thanks to the peer counselors, she learned about HIV for the first time. Michelle, who is now 21, says she is in better health thanks to her peer support group, and is training to become a counselor herself.

She says, “I want to do the same for others in a situation like mine.”

Sungano Bondayi is a communications officer at Zvandiri. She says the Community Adolescent Treatment Supporters program now has about 1,600 peer counselors who support more than 64,000 young people across Zimbabwe. She says that talking to people who are close in age allows youth living with HIV to feel like they are talking to a friend, and helps eliminate the fear of judgement.

Ms. Bondayi says the results are clear. Locally, Zvandiri is seeing improvements in treatment adherence for youth and viral suppression.

Marshall, who is 19, is also training to be a peer counselor like Michelle. He says he abandoned his treatment when he learned about HIV and AIDS at school and the other children began to tease him. He says he threw his pills into the garbage for the next six months.

Marshall was losing weight and becoming unwell when a friend referred him to a peer counselor. The young man didn’t judge Marshall or make him feel different, and eventually Marshall trusted him enough to tell him the truth about tossing his pills. The peer counselor gave Marshall the motivation to keep taking his medication through a game called Masoja, meaning “soldier,” and now Marshall is back on track with his treatment.

The youth in this article prefer to go by only their first names for fear of stigma regarding their HIV status.

This story is adapted from an article written by Kudzai Mazvarirwofa, Evidence Chenjerai, and Fortune Moyo published in Global Press Journal, and titled “Peer counselors help young people live with HIV.” To read the full story, go to: https://globalpressjournal.com/africa/zimbabwe/peer-counselors-help-young-people-hiv-stick-treatment/

Photo: Michelle, right, plays a board game with a fellow peer counsellor. Credit: KUDZAI MAZVARIRWOFA, GPJ ZIMBABWE.