THE Aurum POP INN clinic opened the doors to its new Florida Road offices on Friday, May 12. The clinic offers health services to key populations, including HIV and TB prevention and treatment, as well as psychosocial support.
The centre, which previously operated in Central Durban, made the move to the larger Morningside offices to accommodate a growing client base.
This is according to project co-ordinator and site manager, Bathabile Nzimande, who added that the Aurum POP INN clinic combines the POP INN clinic model founded by Matshidiso Chabane with The Aurum Institute’s work.
“We are a key populations clinic. Key populations are populations that are at a higher risk of HIV infection – these include Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) and transgender women. We offer a tailored range of comprehensive services,” she said.
Listing services on offer, Nzimande included HIV-testing, same-day antiretroviral (ART) initiation, TB-screening and treatment, STI-screening and treatment as well as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a daily medication taken by an HIV-negative person to help prevent them from becoming HIV-positive. There is also an in-house social worker offering psychosocial services, such as individual and couple’s counselling, as well as group sessions.
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A judgement-free zone
“The reason that we service key populations is that they don’t always receive services at public clinics. A transgender woman may face problems if their ID says they are a man but they are presenting as a woman. It’s not a comfortable space for them to access healthcare. Our clinic is a judgement-free zone,” she said.
Nzimande added that the clinic offers gender-affirming healthcare.
“It’s a model we use to affirm different sexual orientations – and different gender expressions and identities. Hormones aren’t readily available in the public sphere. We prioritise our transgender women. We have 32 women currently on hormonal replacement treatment – and 11 more who will be initiated,” she said.
The clinic also runs sexual-orientation, gender-identity and expression sensitisation in the broader community, and educational outreach programmes at local universities.
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Jacqui Pienaar, principal investigator for The Aurum Institute, said there are five centres situated across South Africa – in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Mpumalanga.
“We aim to create a safe and inclusive space where people can explore their gender identity, and we aim to help individuals live a good quality life by enabling them to be the person they are,” she said.
Pienaar added that social stigmatisation is a concern for many key populations.
“Being gay or being on the LGBT spectrum is stigmatised. In KwaZulu-Natal, there is a cultural stronghold – culture features very heavily in this province. Our beneficiaries often tell us how they are kicked out of their communities or ostracised by their families because being gay is considered un-African or un-Zulu,” she said.
The institute also works to promote understanding, tolerance and acceptance in local communities. The centre, which is located at 295 Florida Road, offers free services to the community. Visit the centre from Monday to Saturday from 08:00 to 16:30. For more information, call 071 008 9095.
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