[imagesource:gencraftai]

In the Chris Hani district in the Eastern Cape, a fifth of the roughly 25,300 parcels of ARVs and chronic medication weren’t collected between January and March.

It is a feat for many of the locals to get to and from the Philani Clinic, and with little money and help, they end up going without important medication.

But one local hero, Siphelo Lose, has become a lifeline to the people in rural areas who can’t get to clinics themselves. In a #SliceofLife feature by the Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism in the Daily Maverick, Siphelo shares how he goes above and beyond to serve his neighbours with the life force they need.

Image: Delwyn Verasamy, Bhekisisa

Siphelo says that most of the people in his township, eNkululekweni, are farmworkers, who go to work very early and come home late. With the clinic being two hours away, they have no time to collect their antiretroviral (ARV) treatment.

“In the end, one person who has ARVs will sell their medication to the others, but then they don’t have enough for themselves.”

According to a 2023 Ritshidze report, even though the Central Chronic Medicines Dispensing and Distribution programme permits patients to retrieve refills from a nearby private pharmacy for three or six months, half of the 1,387 HIV-positive individuals surveyed in the Eastern Cape still found it challenging. This is partly because there aren’t enough pick-up points in some rural areas. The issue is also complicated by the fact that people can only use this service once the level of virus in their body is so low that they can no longer transmit it to someone else.

To solve this, Philani Clinic asked Siphelo to deliver people’s medication by bicycle, which he more than obliged.

“Every morning at 8am I come to the clinic to check who didn’t collect their parcel the day before. Then I call them to find out when would be the best time to deliver.

“We don’t want to see people dying when their treatment is sitting at the clinic.

If an individual with HIV skips their medication, the virus may replicate within their body, compromising their immune system and increasing their susceptibility to other infections. It can also potentially enable transmission of the virus through unprotected sexual activity.

Siphelo’s bike is broken and hard to ride, “but if I ask the clinic to fix the bike it would take too long and people would have to wait to get their parcels”, he says. The inundated man says he walks sometimes but becomes scared of the dogs and dodgy characters roaming around:

“And this is a township, so I have to watch out for pharas [criminals]. I have a rip in my bag where someone tried to cut it open.”

Lionhearted, he persists through all the challenges, even when it doesn’t seem worth the compensation he receives:

“Today, I have three deliveries in the Mlungisi area. I get paid R7 per box marked for a home delivery.”

“But it’s not about the money; it’s about the people. Everyone here knows me.”

He says most of the patients, a lot of whom are women, treat him well, providing him with a moment to catch his breath and have a sip of water.

“I do my best, even though I have nothing myself. I only have God. I pray to God every day to give me the power to help people.”

Failure to collect medications poses a challenge for UNAIDS targets, which aim to treat 95% of HIV-positive individuals by 2030. South Africa still has approximately 27% left to reach this goal.

Siphelo Lose’s enduring deliveries play a crucial role in preventing individuals from being overlooked in the system. Sometimes, heroes ride a bicycle.

[source:dailymaverick]