Bwindi Community Hospital’s HIV Moonlight Clinic: A Lifeline After Sunset

It is common to see health workers from Bwindi Community Hospital (BCH) driving out in a branded hospital shuttle in the evening hours after sunset. This leaves many people wondering what business they could be having in the community at night.

In addition to the daily HIV clinic, the Community Health department comes up with initiatives to address other HIV health-related concerns and challenges in the community. One of these initiatives is the Moonlight Clinic.

The Moonlight Clinic is a community outreach program that was started in 2020 to take HIV/AIDS services to the community hotspot areas in the greater Kayonza area, including Butogota, Kyeshero, and Buhoma. Each of these town councils has at least four hotspot areas.

BCH’s Moonlight Clinic operates during evening hours, bridging the gap when other health facilities are closed. It caters to key populations, such as sex workers, as well as priority populations like pregnant women and children.

According to Kennedy Ahimbisibwe, the in-charge of the HIV/AIDS department at Bwindi Community Hospital, "The intention of the Moonlight Clinic is to screen individuals at risk of acquiring HIV, individuals living with clients with non-suppressed viral load, offer HIV testing, ensuring that individuals whose results are positive are linked to treatment after performing key investigations - they are counseled and initiated on treatment."

Index testing, a case-finding approach that focuses on eliciting the sexual or needle-sharing partners and biological children of HIV-positive individuals and offering them HIV testing services, is also carried out.

In light of this, community members are also advised on preventive measures, such as abstinence, use of condoms, being faithful to their partners, Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC), and Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) - medicine taken to prevent getting HIV when taken as prescribed.

In addition, the BCH team addresses different myths and misconceptions. For example, from interactions with community members in the hotspots, some people believed that drinking Coca-Cola soda before having sex would prevent them from getting HIV, among other misconceptions.

From January to March 2024, BCH was able to screen 270 key populations, such as sex workers, Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW), and people with multiple partners. The team also reached 314 priority populations.

In a recent client satisfaction survey done by the hospital, community members requested for more regular services. The in-charge HIV department notes that the communities are very receptive to the services. Since 2020, BCH has been able to reach out to about 2,451 clients with HIV/AIDS services, of these 90 were positive cases.

Ahimbisibwe hopes that with funding and resources, the team will be able to reach many communities, identify people at risk, enroll them, and link them to care. Bwindi Community Hospital’s remarkable initiative – the Moonlight Clinic – illuminates lives by offering care beyond the sun's setting. In the quiet of night, it stands as a testament to resilience, compassion, and the unwavering fight against HIV/AIDS.

By Elizabeth Namara