TAC Member Demonstrating the usage of Female condomLink on Access to Female Condoms and more on usage of female condoms: http://www.ahumanrightsissue.blogspot.com/
Report of the door-door campaign held at Thomo Village
Clinic Profile
The clinic is covering 626 500 people from about 8 villages (Thomo, Makoxa, Gawula, Khakhala, Mahlathi, Ndindani, Hlomela, Xikukwana & hlomela); this is subject to change due to the new clinic that has just been opened in the area.
We had a workshop which was facilitated by CANSA (Cancer Association of South Africa) & TAC on Friday the 10th October 2008 at Thomo Trinity church, in Thomo Village for 15 people from TAC branch and CBOs. The training was focusing on Breast & Cervical Cancer and HIV.
The theme of thee workshop was inducting thee team which was supposed to do door-door teaching people about cancer. Breast cancer and cervical cancer, a group off 12 participants avail themselves to the workshop and were taught of the see cancers and how to prevent it, we had also a plenary session as to how are we going to work during the following week.
We had a door-door from the 13th to 16th October where we targeted every house holds. We manage to reach 96 houses to the more than 1500 houses comprising a village. Most of the people available were female who are unemployed and are looking for their children,
We manage to reach the number of +_550 people where 50 were male and 500 were females. These numbers includes those whom we find at their homes and most were having a meeting at the school. In the campaign we were recruiting the people to do Pap smear at the clinic, teaching them of the use of Female condom and distributing condoms to them. We distributed 565 female condoms and 3000 male condoms through the week. We have manage to distribute about 300 Tsonga translated version of breast, cervical cancer & HIV Pamphlets.
We identified that the community is lacking the information and some having challenges which deter them to do Pap smear. Some of the reasons they said are making them afraid of getting tested are
Clinic staff mistreat women when they come for pap-smear are some of the claims that the community voiced out
They had rumors that doing Pap smear is painful
They are mistreated for general illnesses. They are afraid it will be worse for doing Pap smear.
We met two people who went to the clinic but did not get results.
They are told they smell if they come in the afternoon
They said there is no privacy their results are discussed.
We had also complements from some off the members who access services from the same clinic.
Our campaign made a success of bringing patients who turn for screening the number that clinic did not reach before in a week.
34 women were screened during the last day of the campaign with assistance by district Department of health mobile clinics to assist with capacity to the clinic staff
Challenges
There was still a challenge of integrating family planning, reproductive health programmes with cervical cancer information in the site hence it result in women not getting information
Capacity is limited in the clinic since the nurses trained are also working in the general clinics
Follow-up
To work, support and monitor the clinic in the future roll out of cancer services by Thomo TAC branch
To support the clinic in the improvement of other health services
Support the clinic to have running water, electricity and telephone line which were not there during the campaign
Build the similar model across the district in other clinics by establishing & strengthening partnership with key role players
Help the community & clinic to start Youth friendly clinic
Report by Lawrence Mbalati
TAC Limpopo Treatment Literacy Co-ordinator
