Newlands Clinic is part of the Southern Africa chapter of the International Epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA-SA). As a member of this research network we took part in the IeDEA-SA steering committee meeting to discuss different research projects and future plansnetwork. IeDEA-SA is very important in answering key research questions around the evolving HIV/AIDS pandemic.

fLTR: Dr. Cleophas Chimbetete (NC), Prof. Matthias Egger (IeDA-SA), Ardele Mandiriri (NC), Mary-Ann Davis (IeDA-SA), Tinei Shamu (NC)

What differences are there in regimens for controlling viral suppression? A study by our research team revealed that several indicators such as age, immune status, and sex have an influence. Our team presented its findings at the AIDS 2022 conference in Montreal, Canada.

Regimen and Suppression Rate

Our team at Newlands Clinic conducted research concerning weight gain among our patients receiving different regimens. One of these drugs is often linked to weight gain, now also confirmed at Newlands Clinic. Our team presented its findings at the AIDS 2022 conference in Montreal, Canada.

DTG and weight gain

People living with HIV are more likely to suffer from Tuberculosis. Therefore, Newlands Clinic is closely monitoring and offering prevention treatment. To evaluate the most suitable therapy our head of pharmacy, Tinashe Mudzviti, compared the two modalities offered in a study. Our team presented its findings at the AIDS 2022 conference in Montreal, Canada.

HIV and Tuberculosis

Comprehensive HIV care should incorporate routine cervical cancer screening. Because a study conducted at Newlands Clinic showed a high prevalence of high-risk papilloma virus in women living with HIV causing this type of cancer. Our team presented its findings at the AIDS 2022 conference in Montreal, Canada.

HIV and cervical cancer

Our research team examined how many HIV patients developed anaemia after starting the treatment. One in four of our patients at Newlands Clinic lacks enough red blood cells to carry satisfactory oxygen. Our team presented its findings at the AIDS 2022 conference in Montreal, Canada.

HIV and anaemia

Women living with HIV are at an increased risk of developing cervical cancer. We conducted an important study in identifying gaps in the continuum of care for cervical cancer screening in women living with HIV in care at Newlands Clinic, together with Dr Kati Taghavi et al, our Swiss partners in the IeDEA collaboration.

The clinic’s health care system electronic Point of Care (ePOC) plays a vital role in our patient management. It allows well-trained nurses to take on most treatment tasks and helps improve the quality of care. Our software developer Ross Hadingham explains the functioning and opportunities the software comes with.

The importance of group counselling for young people failing treatment is shown by a recent study conducted by our psychologist Bahati Kasimonje. She established a direct link between participation and suppressed viral load. The more intensively the adolescents attended the sessions, the better their adherence to therapy was. The study has been acknowledged by experts because it showed that psychological interventions have a measurable outcome. It was published in the Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine.

Group counselling for adherence support among young people failing first-line antiretroviral therapy in Zimbabwe

Our research team at Newlands Clinic examined the prevalence and treatment outcomes of hypertension in Zambia and Zimbabwe. The study showed that many adults are suffering from the condition. Hypertension significantly affects the health of the heart and blood vessels. Our team presented its findings at the INTEREST conference in Kampala, Uganda.

Hypertension Care Cascade

Our team examined changes in mortality between 2010 and 2020 at Newlands Clinic. While fewer deaths from infectious diseases occurred, the ones from non-communicable diseases, and malignancies increased. Therefore, prevention, early diagnosis, and early treatment get more crucial preventing early deaths. Our team presented the poster at the INTEREST conference in Kampala, Uganda.

Mortality Causes Newlands Clinic

Newlands Clinic is treating more than 7,000 patients with HIV. Thanks to our donors, we kept our doors open despite the corona pandemic. Read now what kept us busy during the past year.

2021 Annual Report

Are you interested in HIV management training? Gain valuable knowledge for your professional development as a healthcare worker. Check out our training calendar 2022 or join our online training in February. For more information, click here or contact our training coordinator.

Training Calendar 2022
Online Training February

Our research team examined cancer diagnoses among people living with HIV at Newlands Clinic. The most common cancer types were those related to infections. They found that vaccination, regular screening, and starting HIV treatment early, before the immune system is severely weakened, may help prevent cancer among people living with HIV in Zimbabwe.

Ten years ago, we opened with the support from the Bernhart-Matter-Stiftung our Newlands Clinic Training Center. More than 7 000 doctors and health care workers participated in our training courses in HIV/Aids management. Together we are continuing to share our lifesaving knowledge with local professionals and to expand our training offers. For example, with our new course format such as online training.

The COVID-19 pandemic has and continues to have distressing impacts on every sphere of life in communities across the globe. However, women and girls have arguably been disproportionately affected (Brookings, 2020). As with most complex public health emergencies, the gender disparities of the pandemic pose a threat to exacerbating pre-existing inequalities particularly in resource limited countries (WANEP, 2020). This paper highlights the health, economic, social, and educational costs on African women and girls in the ongoing pandemic and makes possible recommendations for effective engagement.

Our pharmacist Tinashe Mudzviti compared therapies for people with HIV/Aids to prevent an infection with Tuberculosis because they are at an increased risk. We screen all our patients at each consultation. He and his fellow researchers Samuel Makhaza and Samuel Gavi summed up the results in an abstrac and presented it in a virtual conference on how to bridge the gap between tuberculosis research and the policy in Zimbabwe.

Abstract Makhaza S, Gavi S and Mudzviti T

Sabine Lüthy chose a picture to reflect on last year for our annual report. She decided on a photo from our entrance where all patients, staff and visitors underwent a health check. She is impressed how we have managed to accompany our patients safely through this difficult time thanks to our staff and donors.

Thanks to the support of our loyal donors and prudent planning, we closed the 2020 financial year with a profit of CHF 0.9 million. Around 90 per cent of total expenses flowed directly into aid projects, reflecting even more efficient use of resources than in 2019.

As well as making an important contribution to the quality of treatment, Newlands Clinic’s well-equipped laboratory is also a reliable source of data for research into HIV/Aids and associated diseases.

Hardest hit by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic was our Newlands Clinic Training Centre, which was unable to hold courses on site from March to October. Instead, Newlands Clinic stepped up decentralised training in the provinces.

The coronavirus pandemic has also hit people in Zimbabwe very hard and has at times had a major effect on our work. Even so, our dedicated clinic team has always been able to find solutions to keep up the usual standards of treatment and care for our patients.

Last year presented itself with a lot of unpredictable challenges. Nevertheless, our team at Newlands Clinic did its work with prudence, wisdom, and creativity. Thanks to this we were able to ensure the treatment and care of our patients at all times and to treat more people in need. Newlands Clinic is now caring for over 7,000 patients. For this, we are grateful from the bottom of our hearts. Learn more about our activities:

Annual Report 2020

Women are in the focus at Newlands Clinic on purpose. As Director of Medical Affairs and Head of Women's Health Center, Margie Pascoe is putting her heart and soul into treating and caring for our female patients. Even though her work is upsetting at times, the born Zimbabwean cannot imagine a more fulfilling job.
 

Ruedi Lüthy, HIV/Aids specialist and founder of Ruedi Lüthy Foundation, turns 80 years old. As a member of the board of trustees, trainer at Newlands Clinic Training Center, and mentor he still takes an active part in the development of the foundations' work. Ruedi Lüthy is fighting the HIV/Aids pandemic since the 1980s – at first in Switzerland, now in Zimbabwe.

Dr. Cleophas Chimbetete, director of training and research at Newlands Clinic, got appointed as a member of the Midlands State University Council. This is a great honor. We congratulate Cleophas Chimbetete from the bottom of our hearts. The council oversees the ethical governance system of State Universities in Zimbabwe.

A difficult and unusual year is coming to an end. Our CEO Sabine Lüthy explains how Newlands Clinic mastered the past few months. And she is summing up what has happened during this time.

Our Director Research and Training Cleophas Chimbetete successfully defended his PhD thesis with summa cum laude - merit distinction - at the Global Health Institute of the University of Geneva. His thesis is titled “HIV Drug Resistance and Third Line Antiretroviral Therapy Treatment Outcomes in Zimbabwe”. We congratulate him from the bottom of our hearts.

To improve the complex HIV therapy in southern Africa, our team at Newlands Clinic conducts its research and participates in international studies on HIV. Our goal is to improve patient management and to share our knowledge with other healthcare. Access our research work on our new webpage:

Scientific Publications

Thanks to a generous donation Newlands Clinic rebuilt two houses, which were destroyed by Cyclone IDAI in March 2019. One of NC’s patients, Tsitsi, who is partially blind and married to a blind man with one common child, lost her belongings and house in Chipinge. Elizabeth, a staff members sister, suffered the same fate living in Chimanimani. She is married and has seven children. Tsitsi and Elizabeth are both very happy and grateful being blessed with new homes.

Besides providing life-saving treatment to people with HIV/Aids, Newlands Clinic helps ensure the ongoing improvement of retroviral therapy in southern Africa. This is possible thanks to the high-quality long-term data we gather with our own software, ePOC.

In 2019 the Newlands Clinic Training Centre provided 871 healthcare workers with a solid grounding in the effective treatment of HIV/Aids. For the second time it was possible to stage a course for nurses in southern African countries with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

Ruedi and Sabine Lüthy work hand in hand for the benefit of patients at Newlands Clinic. Together they resume last year in our annual report.

Our laboratory at Newlands Clinic finally received a delivery of testing supplies. Due to the corona crisis it has been challenging to import material. Samples we had to put on hold are now being processed by our staff. This is how we ensure high quality treatment at Newlands Clinic.

The year 2019 was an extremely difficult time for people in Zimbabwe. Thanks to judicious planning, loyal donors and a dedicated team, we were able to give more than 6,700 people with HIV/Aids hope for a better future. Read more about our activities:

Annual Report 2019

The lockdown in Zimbabwe puts a number of our already vulnerable patients in distress. Our mental and social health (MSH) team is more indispensable than ever. They had to find new ways to support our patients during the corona crisis. Bahati Kasimonje, head of social and mental health, is giving an insight:

Newlands Clinic obtained another delivery of food. Our stock will last for some additional weeks. Furthermore, our Clinic mastered the first week of the lockdown Zimbabwe well.

Newlands Clinic provides essential medical services during the lockdown period to patients in dire need. Our team makes it possible: Thanks to their tireless and professional engagement Newlands Clinic remains partially open.

The Coronavirus reached Zimbabwe: Newlands Clinic took further safety measurements.  The health of our staff and patients is our top priority. Read more about the current situation at Newlands Clinic. Country Director Matthias Widmaier answered our questions.

 

Zimbabwe has no confirmed COVID-19 cases until now. We are monitoring the situation closely. Newlands Clinic is continuously adapting the measures we already took. We are welcoming every patient in a temporary pavilion as of Monday. Our medical staff will measure temperature, ask questions about their health status and other possible risks. Thus, we are keeping control of everyone entering and leaving the clinic. Patients with a suspected corona infection will be sent to the designated hospital by our medical staff.

Until now, COVID-19 did not affect Zimbabwe. All suspected cases turned out to be negative, the Zimbabwean Ministry of Health and Child Care reported. Our medical staff at Newlands Clinic is closely monitoring the situation and took precautionary measures.

Love Land App aims to inform teenagers about taboo subjects such as sexuality and HIV/Aids through playing. Karin Stierlin is developing this app with her organization taboobreaker. Next week girls and boys of different ages are examining an early version of the app at Newlands Clinic. In the following interview, Karin Stierlin explains how crucial testing the app is and what result she is expecting.

The Swiss branch of the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) honors Ruedi Lüthy with the Swiss Human Rights Award for his engagement against HIV/Aids. "This acknowledgement for my work makes me very proud", says Prof. Dr. Ruedi Lüthy, founder of the Ruedi Lüthy Foundation. The award presentation took place on the 7th of December 2019 in Bern.

The Faculty of Medicine awarded its honorary doctorate to Ruedi Lüthy for his pioneering work and his tireless fight against HIV/Aids. The official ceremony took place 29th of November at St. Martin’s Church in Basel.

At the opening of the 17th European Aids Conference in Basel Ruedi Lüthy received the "Award for Excellence in HIV Medicine 2019". The EACS European AIDS Clinical Society rewarded Ruedi Lüthy for his engagement against HIV/Aids. "This Award is a great honor", says Ruedi Lüthy, founder of the Ruedi Lüthy Foundation.

Knowledge that saves lives: Newlands Clinic trained in partnership with Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) 20 health workers from six countries in Southern Africa. In an two-weeks course they got theoretical and practical knowledge about HIV treatment. "The training we do has a multiplying effect ", says our teacher Azza Mashumba in an interview with Newlands Clinic.

Many young people struggle with their HIV infection and the lifetime of therapy that it means. They need particularly close support to ensure that their treatment continues uninterrupted.

Our Annual Report 2018 is online! Find out how we made an impact for 6,500 HIV patients in Zimbabwe.

Many thanks to all our donors, supporters and our whole staff.

Enjoy the read.

The Newlands Clinic team will not forget 9 January 2019 any time soon, as it was the day that Swiss Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis toured our clinic as part of his visit to southern Africa. The foreign minister appeared impressed and emphasised the important contribution that Newlands Clinic is making to the fight against HIV/AIDS. After the visit he went on to meet with Zimbabwean Minister of Health and Child Care Obadiah Moyo.

On January 9th, Swiss Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis will come and see Newlands Clinic on his visit to three southern African countries. The team looks very much forward to welcoming him!

Official Press release

Read what Newlands Clinic patient and Zvandiri mentor Maximina Jokonya has to say on knowing your status!

The Medical Doctors’ Ball held on 17 November in Lucerne collected donations for our foundation for the 16^th year running. Stefan Zimmerli, and our Chief Executive Sabine Lüthy accepted a cheque for CHF 10,000. Our heartfelt thanks go to the organisers and guests for a wonderful evening and their long-standing support!

www.deraerzteball.ch

After the violent protests following this week’s elections in Zimbabwe, the situation in the capital, Harare, is calmer at present. Police are still patrolling the streets. Newlands Clinic is open for patients and is operating normally.

Newlands Clinic was represented at the International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam!

Our staff members Cleo Chimbetete, Tinei Shamu, Sandra Bote and Bahati Kasimonje presented results on different studies conducted on Mortality Trends among HIV-patients as well as the positive impact group counselling has on adherence in adolescent patients.

Our foundation was created 15 years ago: “I am proud of an incredible team”. Listen to Ruedi Lüthy’s short interview.

Today, more than 6,000 patients living with HIV are treated at our Newlands Clinic. A big and heartful thank you to all our supporters and our staff for making this happen!

Link to Youtube video!

Marigold Mupunga talks about her first few weeks as a social worker at the Newlands Clinic. Find out what inspires her most, and what is crucial in her role.

Today is International Women's Day 2018! Your wish for every woman?

Watch the Newlands Clinic employees Petronella Mudhokwani, Linda Chirimuta, Eleanor Kaziboni and Charity Hutete!

Video on youtube!

Happy International Women's Day and High Five to the Women in Zimbabwe, Switzerland and worldwide!

Tomorrow is International Women's Day 2018! Listen to what the gentlemen at our Newlands Clinic have to say.

Our staff members Tinashe Mudzviti, Stefan Zimmerli and Walker Takaendesa know exactly what they wish for the women!

Watch our video on youtube.

Over a 10-year period, HIV specialist Ruedi Lüthy and his team examined the outcomes of more than 600 long-term HIV patients receiving treatment at Newlands Clinic. Thanks to the comprehensive care and support they are given, the results are very good: 90% of the patients in care for ten years have a fully suppressed viral load.

As announced at the end of 2016, following a thorough induction process Stefan Zimmerli is now officially taking up his duties as Medical Coordinator at Newlands Clinic. Prof. Ruedi Lüthy will continue to play an active role, providing advice on medical matters where required.

A large delivery of milk powder has arrived at Newlands Clinic last week. The high-protein powder is also rich in vitamins. The 14 tons will be distributed to the children with HIV to support their growth as well as to patients recovering from illness. We would like to say a huge thank you to the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), which has been financing the milk powder since 2008.

Our parent organisation Ruedi Lüthy Foundation has published its 2016 Annual Report. In addition to an overview of our activities, it gives you an insight into everyday working life of Newlands Clinic’s social worker. Melania Mugamu visits especially vulnerable patients such as orphans or single mothers in their homes in order to find out how we can support them. Having her own HIV story to tell, the fight against HIV/Aids is particularly close to her heart.

Read online

Just like adults, babies and infants receiving treatment at Newlands Clinic have to take their HIV medicine every day. Thus far they have received this in the form of a bitter syrup, which made administering the drug very unpleasant. Thanks to the Clinton Health Access Initiative, 24 babies and infants up to the age of three now receive their medicine in small pellets, which can be added to their food twice a day. This means the treatment is no longer a daily ordeal for the parents and children. The pilot project started in April 2017 and will run until the end of the year. It will then be evaluated to determine whether to switch over to the new medicine in the long term.

Our vocational skills training programme has started a new year, and a further 25 adolescents and young adults receiving treatment at Newlands Clinic will thus be given the chance to learn a vocation and start working for themselves. In light of the economic crisis in Zimbabwe, this support is more important than ever.

At the end of April, ten young teenagers who have only recently had their HIV diagnosis disclosed to them attended a week-long group therapy meeting at Newlands Clinic’s Adolescent Corner. Here they had the opportunity to discuss all their questions and worries about living with HIV, their main concerns being the need for support in taking their medication regularly and their fear of life-long treatment. The group therapy is aimed at empowering the adolescents and giving them confidence that they, too, can thrive in life despite HIV.

We welcome Dr. Linda Mandikiyana-Chirimuta at Newlands Clinic. She is working as a paediatrist, making sure that children and adolescents are treated at the best. “I wanted to become a doctor from a very young age, and I am very happy to be able to help the little ones who have to cope with HIV”, says Dr. Mandikiyana-Chirimuta. Along with her work as clinician, the paediatrist is part of the trainer team which teaches doctors and nurses in specialised HIV and AIDS treatment at Newlands Clinic Training Centre. In total, five doctors and 19 nurses specialised in HIV and AIDS care for some 6,000 patients.

Our staff

In July 2016, our Swiss parent organisation Swiss Aids Care International was renamed Ruedi Lüthy Foundation. The new name under­scores the foundation's commit­ment to continuing the foun­dation's work in keeping with its founder Prof. Ruedi Lüthy's vision and ideals over the long term. The new name presented the ideal opportunity to renew our visual identity. With the new website, we want to present a com­pre­hensive and transparent insight into Newlands Clinic's work.

Stefan Zimmerli, Attending Physician at the University Clinic for Infectious Diseases at Inselspital, is to take over as Medical Coordinator of Newlands Clinic in Harare, Zimbabwe, as part of a cooperation with Inselspital Berne. He will be providing specialist support to the medical team with immediate effect, and ensuring ongoing education and training. Ruedi Lüthy will be reducing his workload from January 2017 and will ultimately step down as Medical Director.

When Maximina Jokonya found out she was HIV-positive at the age of thirteen, it was as if her world had fallen apart. Today, the Newlands Clinic patient helps young people who have been similarly affected. In November, she came to Switzerland at the invitation of Medicus Mundi to talk about her experiences.

In June 2015, the Ruedi Lüthy Foundation set up a project for food-insecure patients aimed at enabling them to feed themselves and their families with efficient maize farming. 135 patients have since completed the course. Despite the severe drought, the results have been encouraging and the project is therefore to be extended for a further year.

One year after opening, the new Women's Health Centre is in full swing, with some 350 of our patients using its services every month. Since the end of last year, we have also been able to vaccinate all some 300 girls aged 10 to 17 receiving treatment at Newlands Clinic against the HP viruses. HPV can cause the dangerous cervical cancer, which unfortunately has a higher-than-average incidence among HIV patients.

More about women's health...

A large delivery of milk powder has arrived at Newlands Clinic: over the coming year we will be distributing some 14.06 tonnes to our patients. This high-protein powder is also rich in vitamins, and is particularly important for supporting the growth of children and patients recovering from illness. In light of the crop failures resulting from the drought, this will be especially important this year. We would like to say a huge thank you to the SDC, which has been financing the milk powder since 2008.

On 1 July 2016, our parent organisation Swiss Aids Care Inter­na­tional was renamed as the Ruedi Lüthy Foundation. Chief Executive of the foundation Sabine Lüthy ex­plains the reasons behind the name change, and what it means for the future.

Amid severe drought conditions, Zimbabwe faces an impending food crisis. Newlands Clinic is also affected, with 600 patients and their families particularly at threat. An emergency food relief programme aims to provide basic sustenance to a total of some 3,000 people for one year.

The Zurich-based foundation Paradies Stiftung presented its prize for social innovation for the fourth time on 30 November, the award going to Ruedi Lüthy in recognition of his life’s work. The CHF 120,000 prize money will go to the Swiss Aids Care International foundation.

Matthias Widmaier, the new Country Director at Newlands Clinic, has been in Harare since October 2014. In our interview, he explains how the past few months have been for him, and what has surprised him the most.

We have launched a farming project to provide long-term support to patients suffering from hunger. This will enable 270 families to grow maize independently in the future. Patients who do not have sufficient areas of land available to them will continue to receive food aid.

Thanks to a significant bequest, Newlands Clinic has been able to expand yet further, setting up a Women’s Health Centre in a building adjacent to the HIV clinic in recent months. The centre was officially opened yesterday, 3 March 2015. In addition to diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer and sexually transmitted infections, the centre will offer family planning services and advice to victims of sexual abuse and gender based violence.

Following on from Sabine Lüthy taking over as CEO in 2012, Swiss Aids Care International (since July 2016 Ruedi Lüthy Foundation) has taken the next step in its succession planning. Matthias Widmaier (47) is taking on the role of Country Director of Swiss Aids Care International (Zimbabwe), thus also expanding the management team of Newlands Clinic. Prof. Ruedi Lüthy (73) will remain on-site as Medical Director, and will be responsible for the treatment of patients and the training of healthcare professionals.

To date only first and second line regimens for HIV treatment have been provided in Zimbabwe. However, third line regimens are now also available. Newlands Clinic is one of only four clinics that will be allowed to offer the corresponding treatment in future.

News 02-09-2014