The Tebello hospital in Qacha’s nek has received a six - rooms prefabricated office structure that will be used as HIV and AIDS clinic to offer Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) services with effect from December 2009. The office structure is supported with Global Fund Round 2 HIV/AIDS grant.

The Christian Health Association of Lesotho (CHAL) AIDS Coordinator Ms. Agnes Lephoto indicated that this remote mission hospital was using a one-room shack with no waiting room for patient or counseling room and pharmacy.

Through the assistance of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Global Fund grants provided finance to put proper shelter for ART center in Tebellong hospital.

The new structure will now provide enough space for registration room, waiting room, pharmacy or treatment adherence room, counseling and consulting rooms.

The current office will therefore provide privacy and confidentiality of patients and also improve working condition for the staff especially at this time were MDR-TB is prevalent.

“On behalf of CHAL, I would like to thank the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Global Fund Coordinating Unit for the support whose objective is to save lives of the people from the deadly virus,” she acknowledged.

Tebellong ART center has 438 AIDS patients enrolled on ARV and 1,130 HIV positive patients whose immune still strong and therefore have not started the ARV treatment. Meanwhile the number of TB/HIV co-infection patients from January to October 2009 is 22 patients whereby 13 are males and 9 are females. Out of 22, 11 completed their TB treatment but 12 of the patients died.