Jens Wennberg and Nancy Miller are a married couple who recently returned from their second volunteer assignment with the International Center for Equal Healthcare Access (ICEHA) in Lesotho, an independent country completely surrounded by South Africa. They first volunteered as clinical mentors with ICEHA in Lesotho in April-May 2006 and then again in October 2006-February 2007. Jens is a physician assistant who worked for eight years in an HIV/AIDS Clinic at Harlem Hospital in New York City. Nancy is a certified nurse midwife who cared for women infected with HIV at Morris Heights Health Center in the Bronx.
The rural mountain town of Semonkong is 75 miles (4 hours by bus) over a rock and rut road from the nearest doctor in the Lesotho capital, Maseru. Primary healthcare is provided in clinics by nurses or nursing assistants. The HIV infection rate is over 30 percent. HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) testing and treatment are available in Maseru, but most rural people cannot afford the bus fare.
Jens and Nancy arrived at St. Leonard's Health Center in Semonkong with big boxes of antiretrovirals. The nurses were delighted and overwhelmed. The couple helped start HIV/AIDS testing and antiretroviral treatment (ART) and worked on prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) and then on TB treatment. Side by side they provided daily clinical support and educational sessions and helped set up systems for the clinic. At the end of their volunteer assignment the local staff was able to provide HIV/AIDS counseling and testing; and the nurses were prescribing HIV/AIDS and TB treatment.
Jens and Nancy are proud of what the nurses accomplished in Semonkong: a sustainable, growing HIV/AIDS treatment program in the mountains. Reflecting on their experience Nancy said, "It has been such a privilege for Jens and me to be a part of it. In a country with few doctors, it was thrilling to show that nurses can implement an HIV/AIDS treatment program with short-term clinical mentoring support. This is the most challenging and rewarding project we have ever been a part of. The courage and spirit to face HIV were inspiring. Huge pieces of our hearts remain in Semonkong."
