Encouraging People to Know their Status and Stay on Treatment

“Knowing your HIV status is not just important to you, it is very crucial for your unborn child,” explains Evines Kumbani Itimu, whose voice could be heard from outside the family health unit room where she was giving a health talk to couples who came for antenatal care at Dedza District Hospital. “This is how I usually start my day. We encourage a lot of people to get tested for HIV through these health talks,” says Evines proudly.

Evines is an expert client, meaning that she has been trained to act as an intermediary between the health center and the community. This is a position of respect that comes with a small stipend. She is HIV-positive and is a peer mentor and patient support service provider who acts as a role model to inspire and encourage people to test for HIV and learn to live a positive life.

Evines is from the area of Traditional Authority (TA) Kachere in Dedza District in central Malawi. She tested positive for HIV seven years ago. She explains how she learned about her HIV status while pregnant with her daughter.

Evines says she was motivated by how the expert clients treated HIV-positive patients and how they openly disclosed their status to her.

She recalls how they helped her enroll in Malawi’s prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) program, which provides drugs, counseling, and psychological support to help mothers prevent their infants from contracting the virus.

“The expert clients gave me hope, and I wanted to be like them,” says Evines. She explains that she was touched when she heard the story of Elizabeth Glaser and the founding of The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF).

“My husband became very promiscuous after he learned that he too was HIV-positive. I left him because I wanted my daughter to be HIV-free.” Fortunately, her daughter did not contract the virus. “She is now a seven-year-old and HIV-free child,” she says contentedly.

Evines shares how becoming an expert client has changed her life.

“It was like starting a new chapter in life. I have gone through several trainings which have shaped my understanding and skills in the field of health. Now I know a lot of critical issues concerning HIV/AIDS, TB, and non-communicable diseases. I feel good when I am counseling the people because I believe in what I do and in myself,” she explains.

Together with other expert clients, Evines provides counseling to individuals before and after they get tested for HIV. The expert clients also provide antiretroviral adherence counseling to clients already identified as HIV-positive and on ART, and trace clients who default or miss appointments.

Supported by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), EGPAF is working with mothers2mothers (m2m), in 98 clinics across Malawi where a team of 272 expert clients support patients on HIV care and treatment.

Emphasizing the important role of expert clients, Elizabeth M’bawa, a Family Health Nurse at the Dedza District Hospital, explains how Evines and her peers trace HIV-positive clients who stopped their treatment and convince them to return to care.

“This is not an easy task. They either call or visit the clients in their villages including those from very hard-to-reach areas. Some of the clients are HIV-positive mothers who do not come back after delivery, thereby putting their children at high risk of HIV transmission,” explains Elizabeth.

Elizabeth appreciates m2m and EGPAF for the implementation of the expert client program, which is reducing transmission of HIV from mothers to babies in 98 health facilities in Malawi.

“I am glad that I am helping in changing the lives of these people. I would like to thank EGPAF and m2m for this expert client program. It has changed our lives and it is benefiting a lot of HIV-positive patients who were afraid to go to hospitals for medication or reveal their status to their loved ones,” shares Evines.