The Hannan Crusaid Treatment Centre – early beginnings and lessons learnt

Abstract

After 12 years, the Hannan Crusaid Treatment Centre (HCTC) in Gugulethu, Cape Town has screened more than 10 000 women, men, adolescents and children for life-saving antiretroviral therapy (ART). While we have seen a slow but steady increase in the starting CD4+ count of new patients, the monthly inflow of new clients goes on unabated. A successful example of public-private partnership, this provincial clinic, supported by a local non-governmental organisation and initially funded by a UK-based charity, may provide a model for similar programmes within the National Health Insurance plan. Here we discuss the history and development of this programme, with a focus on lessons learnt about rolling out ART in South Africa more generally.