derick.khumalo![Beitbridge District Medical Officer Dr Lenos Samhere [blue shirt] updating Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe [centre] and the UN Resident Coordinator Dr Rosemary Kalapurakal during the tour of a clinic at the Beitbridge Reception and Support Centre-picture by Thupeyo Muleya](https://www.heraldonline.co.zw/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/WhatsApp-Image-2026-07-17-at-12.37.25.jpeg)
Thupeyo Muleya
Beitbridge Bureau
THE Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) has integrated Zimbabweans returning from South Africa who are living with HIV into the Community Antiretroviral Therapy Refilling Group (CARG) model, enabling them to continue accessing life-saving treatment despite disruptions caused by migration.
District Medical Officer Dr Lenos Samhere revealed that 127 returnees have accessed antiretroviral therapy (ART) services since the clinic at the Beitbridge Reception and Support Centre opened on June 18.
He was briefing the Minister of Local Government and Public Works, Daniel Garwe, and a United Nations delegation led by Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Dr Rosemary Kalapurakal during a tour of the reception centre on Thursday.
Dr Samhere said most returnees requiring ART had already been enrolled under the CARG model after failing to access treatment in South Africa because of their immigration status.
“CARG makes it easy to integrate them because they are already part of groups getting ARVs,” he said.
“Since we opened the clinic on 18 June, we have attended to 127 patients seeking ART services, and we have the support of other partners on the ground for HIV related services such as voluntary counselling and testing.”
The CARG model allows stable HIV patients who have disclosed their status to one another to form groups of between six and 12 members, with one representative collecting medication on behalf of the group each month. The approach reduces travel costs, improves treatment adherence and helps minimise cases of patients defaulting on medication, particularly in areas with limited access to health facilities.
Dr Samhere said the reception centre clinic operates around the clock, with day and night shifts staffed by registered general nurses, nurse aides, environmental health practitioners, nutrition personnel, laboratory staff, pharmacy staff, social workers, general hands and administrative personnel.
“Since opening, the clinic has seen 1,474 clients. Of these, 929 are females, and 545 are males. Children under 15 years are 457,” said Dr Samhere.
“The clinic has also recorded 145 cases of diarrhoea and 553 cases of upper respiratory tract infections.”
On water and sanitation, he said borehole water was available at the centre, while purified drinking water had been donated by well-wishers.
The facility currently has 16 fixed toilets, with additional mobile units being deployed to reach a target of 30 toilets.
“Handwashing stations are available but not adequate. A refuse compactor collects waste daily,” said Dr Samhere.
As part of epidemic preparedness measures, a Cholera Treatment Unit has been established, although no confirmed cholera cases have been recorded.
Dr Samhere said development partners, including UNICEF, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society, were supporting sanitation and health interventions at the centre.
Despite the progress, he said the clinic continues to face challenges, including shortages of medicines and medical commodities, infection prevention and control concerns, and inadequate sanitation facilities.
“To address this, key staff have been assigned duties at the centre. Drugs and sundries have been mobilized from the district hospital.
Partners including MSF, UNICEF, Red Cross, NAC, Higher Life Foundation, and IMC are providing support. Mobile toilets have also been set up,” he said.
Dr Samhere said the reintegration programme also covers family and child health services, including catch-up immunisation, nutrition monitoring, sexual and reproductive health, and maternity care.
He added that tuberculosis patients were being diagnosed and linked to continued treatment, while services for non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, cancer, mental health conditions and drug and substance abuse were also being provided.
“The MOHCC structures are already in place and functional starting at the village level. So, there is also a strong community support network through existing programmes,” he said.
The ministry also plans to strengthen disease surveillance, improve the availability of health commodities and establish temporary holding facilities for returnees in all provinces and districts.
During the visit, Minister Garwe and Dr Kalapurakal signed a joint resource mobilisation plan to support the reintegration of Zimbabweans returning from South Africa.
Minister Garwe said Government expects the number of returnees to increase following the deployment of additional buses and funding to facilitate their transportation back home.
