Home based care volunteers are recruited through member churches. To date there are 240 trained male and female volunteers, 131 in Chimoio district and 109 in the other 4 districts. Each volunteer is responsible to care for 6 patients at a time. However, in reality the volunteers extend their services to a greater number based on the condition of known patients and call for Christian compassion.  Kubatsirana has reduced number of two, from three, government certified HBC trainers who provide training to member volunteers. The government has introduced new standards for volunteers requiring them to undergo a 12 days training course. Old volunteers who received less training are therefore required to undergo retraining to meet this new standard.

The program encourages patients to have a voluntary HIV test before receiving treatment as part of the initial diagnosis stage. Thereafter patients receive appropriate treatment and counseling. The patient is then encouraged to join Shingirirai (an association of PLWHA) for support. The volunteers have the burden of looking after the welfare of OVCs, and particularly whose parents will have died whilst under the volunteer’s care as these orphans will have no other person to look up to in their moments of grief and need.

• Lack of food as first line defense and to support ARV and terminally ill patients;
• Burden of care for other PLWHA volunteers by colleagues;
• Volunteer food insecurity, livelihoods and poverty reduction mechanism;
• Funding to train new volunteers that replace outgoing ones and to retrain old volunteers to meet new standards;
• Institutional capacity for holistic volunteer program management;
• Funding for volunteer retention, motivation and career development;
• Immediate burden of care for orphans after patient has died while under volunteer care;
• Future of aging volunteers and or their integration into new facilitation role by Kubatsirana.

• Health Alliance International (HAI)