The Kingdom of Swaziland

The Kingdom of Swaziland
Dreams Fulfilled

Why am I in Swaziland?

HIV is a global pandemic and claimed the lives of millions of people all over the world. One of my hopes is that there will be a cure for HIV during or after my lifetime. Not only do I believe in physical healing of HIV, but I also believe in spiritual healing by faith in God. God has called me to act on this issue and my work here in Swaziland is being done to bring Him glory. By the grace of God, I was accepted into the Minority Health International Research Training (MHIRT) program offered by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health. Due to my passion for HIV research and prevention, I was selected to conduct research on the barriers to antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation among HIV-positive children 2 to 18 months of age in Swaziland. With the relatively high rate of HIV among pregnant women and the relatively low rate of children initiated on ART in comparison to adults in Swaziland, this a major public health concern within the country.

What am I doing?

Just to get an idea of what I will be blogging about, I will be implementing a research project on the barriers to antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation among HIV-positive children 2-18 months of age in Swaziland. I will be carrying out the study at several different health facilities in Swaziland with my research partner and fellow MHIRT trainee, Chantal Harris, who also attends the University of Florida. Our main job is to carry out the study by following the research protocol with the assistance of data clerks, the primary investigators, public health stakeholders, and doctors associated with the project and ART initiation among children. The research project is also funded by UNICEF, which allowed us to hire data clerks to assist with data extraction, survey administration, and the facilitation of focus groups for the study.

Who do I work with?

My fellow MHIRT trainee, Chantal Harris, will be working on the research project with me all summer. She also will be living with me in Dr. Peter Preko's guest house in Mbabane, Swaziland. Dr. Preko is our host and mentor as well as one of the primary investigators of the research study. Dr. Pauline Jolly is also a primary investigator for this research project and also the director of the MHIRT program at UAB. Mrs. Nobuhle Mthethwa is another one of the primary investigators and is the National Paediatric ART Officer of the Swaziland National AIDS Program (SNAP) of the Ministry Of Health (MoH). We have four data clerks helping us to carry out the study, which are two Swazi women, Nelisiwe (Neli for short) and Nozipho, and two Swazi men, Ndumiso and Sibusiso. Two other fellow MHIRT trainees, Jessica and ShaCoria, are also here in Swaziland for 12 weeks, but they are implementing a different project (association between HIV status and cervical cancer among women) and live with a host family in Manzini, Swaziland. The UNICEF budget for the research budget also rendered us the opportunity to hire two drivers from Affordable Car Hire (Smangaliso and Sipho) to take us from clinic to clinic.

Monday, June 2, 2014

Day 2: Exploring in Downtown Mbabane

Corporate Place in downtown Mbabane, Swaziland


Here is a picture I took in downtown Mbabane. The place is called Corporate Place, which is pretty much the mall. For some reason, during my sixth week in Swaziland (the week of the Durban trip), I finally realized that there was a shopping center behind all of this. The girls and I usually just go to the food court here (see pictures below). As you can see, Swaziland has a KFC! But no McDonald's are in Swaziland. I sometimes get confused because I would assume that Corporate Place be called the mall, but locals call it "the plaza" and the mall (with other shopping centers, including a popular grocery store called Pick n Pay) is across from Corporate place, although Corporate place reminds me more of the malls in the States. 

The Food Court at Corporate Place




 The Mall (and Pick n Pay inside the mall)
Inside there are a few stores and a grocery store called Pick n Pay, which is that place I usually go to shop for food other than SPAR and SUPERSPAR (which is another grocery store and one of the largest retailers in Southern Africa).
Kombi/Taxi Station
For the first few weeks that I've been in Swaziland, Chantal and I have been calling the Kombis "mini buses" (the picture of the huge vans in the picture above are called Kombis. Kombis are typically used for public transport in Swaziland as well as South Africa (as far as I know from my trip to Durban, South Africa). It is pretty cheap to ride in a Kombi. In U.S. currency, a Kombi ride can cost any where between 40 cents and 60 cents for places within town and 1 to 4 dollars for places out of town or far away. The major issue about riding a Kombi is the risk of Tuberculosis because of the tight space and the TB rate is quite high in the country, which is why I try to avoid riding Kombis and if I do ride a Kombi, I usually make sure that I sit near an open window, which kills TB. It's usually busy in the Kombi station during the middle of the day and it get's really cluttered within the station and Kombi drivers impatiently squeeze through other vehicles and pedestrians.


Today we went to the market, which is located within the Kombi station. Got a few bags of fruits and vegetables ranging from 20 to 50 cents each (in US dollars).

Taking selfies with the Preko kids: (from left to right) Peter, Caleb, and Gabby
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