Transmission Area (HTA) wellness centre
31 March 2009
Programme director
Members of the Provincial Portfolio Committee on health
Executive Mayor Pixley-Ke-Seme District municipality Ms H Jenkins and
counsellors present
Mayor Umsobomvu Local Municipality, Ms N L Hermans and counsellors
present
Area Manager of Shell, Ms F Raybin
Chief Executive Officer of trucking wellness, Mr T Wessels
Chief Executive Officer and staff Greenfield Management Solutions
Community leaders
Government officials from various government departments
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Community of Colesberg
Good afternoon to all. It is a great honour and pleasure for me to be here
today for the official launch of the new High Transmission Area (HTA) wellness
centre here in Colesberg. As the government of South Africa, we engaged
ourselves in the struggle for development of our people and our country and we
are continuing to improve the lives of all citizens of the country.
The opening of this site here today, is a true reflection of how government
and the private sector have taken hands and created another success story. It
is through the concept of public private partnerships that government and the
private can constructively interact and establish tangible infrastructure and
solutions to positively contribute to addressing challenges in our country.
High Transmission Areas (HTAs) are geographical regions or definable
populations of people who are particularly susceptible to transmission of
sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including Human Immune Virus (HIV). The
HTA service point is a definable healthcare service intervention that
emphasises healthcare issues specific to the burden of the High Transmission
Area (HTA).
The service point may be an entire facility, a mobile clinic or
alternatively an integrated focus within an existing facility driven by a
dedicated individual or team of health workers with appropriate skills and
experience. The services specific to HTA is an integral part to the package of
Primary Health Care (PHC) services offered by any environment confronted by HIV
and AIDS. The intervention model does not change the PHC package, but rather
places additional prominence on key services required by the HTA population.
The HTA service should limit the increase of new infections through behaviour
change, awareness campaigns and health promotion activities.
The strategic framework for the project is the National Department of
Healthâs National Strategic Plan of 2007 to 2011 under the priority area one:
Prevention: 50% reduction in HIV incidence rate by 2011.
The High Transmission Areas (HTA) project commenced in the Northern Cape
province with the launch of the Hanover Wellness Clinic through a strategic
partnership with trucking wellness in 2005. This facility has been operational
and functioning ever since.
In May 2007, Greenfield Management Solutions was awarded a tender by the
Department of Health to evaluate HTA priorities in the Northern Cape Province
and launch one site in each district by April 2010. Colesberg and Kakamas are
the first sites to be finalised. Additional sites will be launched in
Kimberley, Kuruman and Vioolsdrift.
The Colesberg project is a partnership between the Provincial Department of
Health, the Pixley-ka-Seme District Health Office, trucking wellness and Shell,
facilitated by Greenfield Management Solutions as the project co-ordinator.
The Colesberg project commenced during 2007 with stakeholder engagements to
establish the need and feasibility to implement HTA services in Colesberg. The
consulted stakeholders included the Umsobomvu Local Municipality, the National
Bargaining Council for the Road Freight Industry, trucking wellness as well as
the Provincial Department of Health.
The target group identified was the trucking community that travels through
the town of Colesberg. The need to address commercial sex work within the
activity was noted. To evaluate the knowledge, attitude, behaviour and
practices (KABP) of the target population of truck drivers, their assistants
and the commercial sex workers that interact with them, a KABP survey was
conducted in June 2008. The survey indicated the feasibility of the
venture.
Within these activities the support from all partners played a crucial part
to the success of the KABP Survey. The conclusions of the survey indicated that
the existent HTA site / wellness centre in Hanover played a pivotal role in
providing services to truck drivers and their companions; there was a need to
provide these services in Colesberg due to the geographical location of
Colesberg as a junction between the N10, N9 and N1 routes and the preference of
some drivers to overnight in Colesberg due to the privacy and additional
overnight space in Colesberg therefore missing the opportunity to visit the
Hanover Wellness Centre.
Poverty and unemployment in Colesberg have resulted in an increase in
commercial sex work as a source of income.
The Shell Ultra City (where truckers prefer to overnight) was identified by
Commercial Sex Workers as a convenient location as it ensures confidentiality
and limits exposure to the local community. The KABP survey recommended the
establishment of a HTA at the Shell Ultra City outside Colesberg and permission
was granted by the Shell Ultra City Management. It is advised that the
intervention should encourage behaviour change in the target population. This
will be done through the education session held at the wellness centre and
Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT).
To ensure the success of the programme, ownership thereof lies with the
Pixley-ka-Seme District Health Management and the local community to ensure the
acceptance and sustainability of the intervention. The project process for the
Colesberg Wellness Clinic had extensive stakeholder consultation throughout.
The partners in this project that contributed immensely to the success of the
project are the Northern Cape Provincial and District Department of Health, the
Pixley-ka-Seme District Municipality, the Umsobomvu Local Municipality,
Trucking Wellness, Shell Ultra City and Greenfield Management Solutions.
The wellness centre has been operational since 23 March 2009 to deliver
services to the trucking community and their companions that travel through the
area as well as the local community.
It now, with great pleasure and enthusiasm, that we officially open the new
Colesberg HTA Wellness Centre.
Thank you.
Issued by: Free State Provincial Government
31 March 2009
