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Patients living with HIV who miss three consecutive medical appointments are referred to as "lost to follow-up” by their care center. However, the future of his patients is uncertain. Have these patients died? Do they receive care elsewhere? Or did they simply interrupt their treatment?

With this in mind, two health mediators of the Yezu Mwiza Service went to Kirombwe on June 25, 2019, in Kanyosha commune, Bujumbura province, where a PLWHA had just spent 8 months without ARV treatment. The paths to reach these beneficiaries’ homes are sometimes hard to follow, but this does not prevent health mediators from achieving their goal.
mediators in the quest for PLWHA lost to follow up in Kirombwe
< b > “It has been so hard to get to this beneficiary’s home, but we should definitely know the reasons that led him to stop treatment. When we arrived at his house, we were welcomed and found that the person in question had an accident and broke his leg. The bed rest prevented him from returning to the SYM for drug supply. Our advice for therapeutic compliance led him to agree to return to the SYM for the exams and resume treatment.” says Mrs. Elisabeth, mediator of health at SYM

Indeed a PLWHA on ARV treatment for a period of 6 months his viral load becomes undetectable, which implies that he can no longer contaminate other sexual partners. A patient who follows his treatment well also reduces the risk of contracting opportunistic diseases and therefore HIV-related death.