BY SIFISO NHLABATSI
MATSAPHA- Approximately 30 000 clients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) across all four regions of Eswatini have benefited from strengthened healthcare services under the Accelerating Local Organizational Capacity for Achieving TB/HIV Epidemic Control (ALLOCATE) Project.
The three-year project, implemented at Eswatini Nazarene Health Institutions (ENHI), supported 11 ENHI facilities, including Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital, with a focus on strengthening the capacity of healthcare workers to provide quality and evidence-based care.
The achievements were highlighted during the ALLOCATE Project graduation ceremony held at Esibayeni Lodge in Matsapha on Thursday, where Health Minister Mduduzi Matsebula said the programme had contributed to improving the quality of care and quality of life of approximately 30 000 clients on antiretroviral treatment.
The ceremony was held under the theme: “From Capacity Gaps to Leadership: ENHI’s Journey to Sustainable Excellence.”
Matsebula said the significance of the programme went beyond the number of healthcare workers trained or facilities supported, stressing that the ultimate beneficiaries were patients and their families.
“These 30 000 clients are not merely a statistic. Behind every number is a human being; behind every client is a family; and behind every successful treatment outcome is a story of hope,” he said.
He said the clients included mothers, fathers, children and families whose lives had been positively affected by stronger clinical services and better-equipped healthcare workers.
According to the minister, this demonstrated the real meaning of health-systems strengthening.
“It is ensuring that every person who enters a health facility receives quality, compassionate, timely and evidence-based care, regardless of where they live in our Kingdom,” he said.
The project’s contribution to HIV and tuberculosis services was also highlighted by Georgetown University Country Resident Director Professor Samson Haumba.
Haumba said ALLOCATE had been designed not simply to transfer technical knowledge, but to build institutional capability that ENHI could own, operationalise and sustain.
He said capacity strengthening under the programme was deliberately taken beyond training venues and boardrooms and translated into frontline health service delivery.
“During this project period, 233 healthcare workers were trained across clinical cadres, alongside 21 senior and middle managers who were upskilled in programme and grant management,” Haumba said.
He further disclosed that 182 structured mentorship visits were completed during the first year of the project, supported by peer-learning networks and communities of practice.
The programme also saw the Client Management Information System become fully operationalised across ENHI facilities, according to Haumba.
He said this had brought real-time data visibility to clinical teams and empowered facility managers to identify and address service-delivery bottlenecks.
ALLOCATE’s reach also expanded during the implementation period, moving from 11 facilities in Lubombo and Manzini to all 21 ENHI health facilities across the four regions of Eswatini.
Haumba said the expansion demonstrated the extent to which the project had moved from targeted capacity strengthening towards institution-wide capability.
He said the health outcomes achieved during the project period provided evidence that organisational strengthening could have a direct impact on patients.
ENHI reported 26 659 active clients receiving lifesaving antiretroviral therapy, exceeding annual targets, while viral-load testing expanded rapidly, with viral-load suppression remaining at 98 per cent.
Tuberculosis Preventive Treatment coverage among eligible clients also increased substantially, rising from 60 per cent to 94 per cent.
“These achievements serve as a vital reminder to us all: organizational strengthening is not an abstract exercise,” Haumba said.
“Strong, well-managed, and accountable institutions directly create the conditions for superior, lifesaving health outcomes for the Emaswati.”
ENHI Chief Executive Officer Mazwi Mavuso said the institution regarded the investment in its people and systems as an important part of building sustainable healthcare services.
Mavuso said infrastructure, equipment and technology remained important, but could not replace skilled, confident and compassionate professionals.
He said the responsibility of ENHI following the conclusion of ALLOCATE was to ensure that the knowledge and skills gained were retained and applied throughout the institution.
“The real graduation begins tomorrow—in our clinics, wards, laboratories, offices and boardrooms,” Mavuso said.
He challenged the graduates to move beyond asking what they had learned and instead focus on what they would do with the knowledge acquired.
“The important question is no longer, ‘What have we learned?’ It is, ‘What will we do with what we have learned?’ That is where leadership begins,” he said.
Mavuso said ENHI would integrate ALLOCATE tools, procedures and lessons into institutional policies, workplans and standard operating procedures.
The institution would also establish continuous mentorship, coaching and peer-learning systems to ensure that graduates trained and supported other staff.
He said ALLOCATE content would be incorporated into staff orientation, in-service training and leadership development, while routine monitoring, audits and performance reviews would be used to determine whether acquired knowledge and skills were improving service delivery.
Matsebula said the investment behind the project represented more than financial assistance.
He disclosed that more than US$600 000, equivalent to approximately E9.6 million, had been invested over the three-year period through a sub-award from Georgetown University under SEASEC funds, supported by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The minister expressed appreciation to the Government and people of the United States of America, the Office of Foreign Assistance, CDC and Georgetown University for their support.
He said the partnership had demonstrated that development cooperation was not simply about providing resources, but also about transferring knowledge, building institutions and empowering local leadership.
As ENHI celebrated the completion of the programme, Matsebula urged the graduates to ensure that the skills acquired translated into earlier identification of HIV and TB, stronger prevention interventions, improved adherence and retention in care, better patient counselling and improved health outcomes.
“Do not keep this knowledge to yourselves. Share it, mentor others, strengthen your teams, improve your facilities, innovate and remain committed to excellence,” he said.
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(Courtesy Pic)
