TRAINING OF HEALTH

WHO / WORKERS ON NASAL

FIND COVID-19 ANTIGEN
SERIES
RAPID TEST DEVICE IN
ZIMBABWE
TA P I WA N A S H E K U J I N G A
PATA M
 PATAM
• The Pan-African Treatment Access
Movement (PATAM) was formed in
2002 to coordinate civil society in the
response against HIV and AIDS in sub-
Saharan Africa.
• In Zimbabwe, PATAM works closely
with the laboratory sector through the
antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
program.

Add a footer 2
 INTRODUCTION:
COVID-19
• The first report case of Covid-19 in
Zimbabwe was reported on the 21st
March 2020, and was a returnee.
• Community transmission was reported
on the 24th March 2020.
• Since then, the country has gone
through four major waves and is slowly
getting into the fifth wave.

Add a footer 3
STATISTICS
• As of the 13th March 2022, a total of
242,515 cases of Covid-19 have been
identified.
• A total of 5,414 deaths related to
Covid-19 have also been recorded.
• Some 4,394,336 people have received
their first vaccine dose and 3,426,112
people have received their second
dose.
• 159,628 people have received their
third dose.

Add a footer 4
EPIDEMIOLOGY
• The transmission of the virus began
with infected returnees and tourists.
• This was immediately followed by
community transmissions.
• The second and third waves were
driven mainly by Zimbabweans
returning from South Africa for the
festive season.
• Community transmissions account for
the majority of the positives.
Add a footer 5
LABORATORY
RESPONSE
• As was the case with many countries,
Zimbabwe did not have dedicated
laboratory equipment for detecting
SARS-CoV-2.
• Consequently, existing laboratory CPR
platforms were recalibrated for that
purpose.
• These molecular platforms could only
manage a throughput of 1,200 tests in
an 8-hour shift.

Add a footer 6
 RAPID TESTS
• Due to the overwhelming demand for
increased testing and quick turnaround
of results, antigen rapid testing for
SARS-CoV-2 was introduced.
• The first to be introduced were the
nasopharyngeal Covid-19 antigen tests.
• These were used by health workers for
contact tracing, in remote settings, in
closed communities and in cases of
widespread community transmission.

Add a footer 7
NASAL ANTIGEN
RAPID TESTS
• Nasopharyngeal tests were unpopular
due to their irritation of the
nasopharynx, hence voluntary uptake
of Covid-19 testing tended to be low.
• In December 2020, the WHO issued an
emergency use listing for the nasal
Panbio Covid-19 rapid test device.
• This provided an opportunity to
introduce a more friendly test to the
communities.

Add a footer 8
 FR

Add a footer 9
 FIND GRANT
• In March 2021, PATAM was awarded a
grant by FIND to train health workers on
the nasal Panbio device in Zimbabwe.
• The initial intention was to train a total
of 83 nurses in all the provinces so that
they can act as trainers.
• It was hoped that the introduction of the
nasal test would increase testing uptake
at community level.

Add a footer 10
IMPLEMENTATION (1)
• The training coincided with the deadly
third wave which was characterized by
the Delta variant.
• A number of provinces were
disproportionately affected and these
experienced high transmission and
death rates.
• Consequently the Ministry of Health
directed that. trainings be held in these
provinces

Add a footer 11
IMPLEMENTATION (2)
• The target provinces were Manicaland,
Mashonaland West and Mashonaland
East.
• The 20,000 tests received from FIND
were distributed among these
provinces.
• At the same time, the number of health
workers and health centers that were
to be covered also increased.

Add a footer 12
 FR

Add a footer 13
IMPLEMENTATION (3)
• The training was divided into two parts
– the theoretical and practical aspects.
• A certain threshold had to be met
before a health worker could be
certified as being competent to use the
test device.
• Great care was taken to ensure gender
balance.
• Provincial health representatives
attended all the trainings.

Add a footer 14
IMPLEMENTATION (4)
• A total of 149 health workers were
trained on the Panbio nasal test device.
• Just before the trainings commenced,
the Ministry of Health directed that
community health cadres be included
in the trainings.
• As a result, a number of environmental
health officers and technicians were
also trained.

Add a footer 15
 FR

Add a footer 16
 FR

Add a footer 17
 OUTCOMES (1)
• There was a noticeable increase in
voluntary uptake to SARS-CoV-2 testing
by communities as the nasal test was
deemed to be free from side effects.
• This was enabled by the inclusion of
community health cadres who
conducted contact tracing within the
communities.
• Unfortunately, no data collected.

Add a footer 18
 OUTCOMES (2)
• On the down side, a number of trained
nurses left the country for greener
pastures due to vacancies created by
the pandemic in developed countries.
• Some of the health workers who were
part of the trainings failed to interpret
the results – very worrying.
• Some sites did not have standard
operating procedures for treating and
managing Covid-19.

Add a footer 19
OBSERVATIONS (1)
• The Covid-19 pandemic overwhelmed
the Zimbabwean health system and the
intervention by PATAM came in at the
right time.
• Some of the communities that were
affected by the pandemic at the time
had minimal access to testing.

Add a footer 20
 OBSERVATIONS (2)
• Civil society organisations have a
significant role to play in the Covid-19
response as was the case in the HIV
and AIDS response.
• This is moreso when health systems
overwhelmed and health workers are
doubly affected by the Covid-19
pandemic.
• The role of civil society in the
circumstances must devolve from being
that of advocacy to being technical.
Add a footer 21
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
• PATAM received significant technical
support from a number of partners
during the process.
• Most of the support came from the
WHO Zimbabwe office.
• We also received significant technical
support from the National
Microbiology Reference Laboratory and
FIND.

Add a footer 22
 LAST WORD
• The pandemic has been declared
endemic and the need to ensure
optimal access to SARS-CoV-2 testing is
greater than ever.
• Civil society worked hard to achieve
universal access to ART, and the new
challenge in Covid-19 is now with us.
• The diagnostic challenge is one which
really needs civil society involvement.

Add a footer 23
 FR

Add a footer 24
Thank You.
Tapiwanashe Kujinga
+263 772 318 638
tapiwa@patam.info
www.patam.info