UNAIDS in collaboration with the Zanzibar Association of People living with HIV/AIDS (ZAPHA+), the Zanzibar HIV Control Program, the Zanzibar Ministry of Health and the local Shehia leadership, is supporting the government-led efforts to empower the most vulnerable, including people living with HIV, to prevent COVID-19 and other communicable diseases.
Recently, UNAIDS through ZAPHA+ donated bars of soap and buckets for handwashing stations to the Mtopepo* community, and personal protective equipment (PPE) such as surgical face masks and gloves to four health facilities in the district.
“UNAIDS believes that the ongoing COVID-19 prevention response has a lot to learn from the experiences of ZAPHA+ in serving communities,” said George Loy, UNAIDS National Programme Officer based in Zanzibar. “Working and supporting local communities is vital for preventing COVID-19 and other communicable diseases,” he added.
The support by UNAIDS will directly impact at least 2000 people in 480 households and is expected to indirectly benefit up to a total of 5000 people.
Fourteen volunteers, who are living with HIV, are being supported by UNAIDS to distribute the hygiene supplies, PPE and COVID-19 information materials in the community. The volunteers have been trained by ZAPHA+ to provide information on the coronavirus and other infectious diseases to the community.
*Mtopepo, a Shehia (sub-ward) in Magharibi district in the Urban/West region of Zanzibar, is an informal settlement with crowded living space and limited access to water and sanitation. This makes the residents particularly vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19.
