With the aim of decongesting health facilities and improving continuity of treatment for people living with HIV, Burundi adopted the PODI (Point de distribution communautaire des médicaments ARV) model in its national guidelines in 2016 and approved the distribution of antiretroviral (ARV) through PODI in 2020.
A PODI is composed of stable people living with HIV (PLHIV) (between 5 and 30), who live in the same locality. The leader of the PODI is chosen by all the members of the group and his or her role is to coordinate the group, requisition the drugs from the health facility and distribute them to the other members of the group.
According to Dr Emmanuel IRAMBONA, RAFG Activity Project Manager, within Service Yezu Mwiza, this model differs from the usual dispensation managed by healthcare providers. With the PODI model, distribution is managed in the community, by the PODI leader and member who comes to requisition for all members of his or her group. This strategy has advantages for both health facilities and patients: “For our facility, this model has allowed us to reduce the volume of patients, which gives providers more time to receive new patients, introduce them to treatment and also to take care of non-stable patients. For our stable beneficiaries who are members of the PODIs, there is a saving of time and resources because the leader of a PODI will come and collect the ARV drugs for them and the time they used to spend going to get the supplies will be used to go about their daily business in order to provide for their families. This limits absences and delays in the supply of drugs”, he says.
Mrs. Marguerite, a community relay and leader of PODI, says that model was put in place to facilitate rapid and continuous access to ARV drugs, "in addition to easy access, this model has brought us much closer together, today we look after each other, each member of PODI knows the situation of the other and this allows for a good cohabitation within our community", she adds.
Today, Service Yezu Mwiza has more than 20 PODIs in various localities in its intervention zone, since the model was introduced in 2020.
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