“I still vividly remember the painful episodes in my life. I experienced my first mental health episode at 21 when I had my first miscarriage at 14 weeks, and by the time I was 25, I had four miscarriages. It was shocking and traumatic. Comforting words from family members were insufficient to heal what I was going through.”

This is 26-year-old Ireen Mulubwa’s testimony of her life with mental health challenges. She lives 21 KM from Lusaka in Chieftainess Mungule, Chibombo District, in central Zambia. To sustain her livelihood, she runs a business selling tomatoes and vegetables.

In 2018, after two years of marriage, Ireen was excited to deliver twins as her first children. Unfortunately, what was supposed to be an exciting moment turned out to be a nightmare as she lost one of her twin children at birth. While grieving, she had to stay strong for the other surviving child. Ireen had consecutive pregnancy losses in the succeeding three years.

After several miscarriages and health deterioration, Ireen was advised by a health practitioner to take an HIV test. “I took the test and was found to be HIV positive. After knowing my status, I felt lifeless and became depressed”.

When she disclosed her HIV status to her husband, he was unconcerned and refused to take an HIV test himself. Ireen does not recall where and how she got infected with HIV.

“I was immediately put on Antiretroviral therapy (ART), but after months of taking the medication, I stopped. I wanted to kill myself because I felt worthless.”

In 2022, I received a call from Mavis Kambita, a counsellor from CIDRZ’s Common Elements Treatment Approach (CETA), who wanted to find out why I was not getting ART for some months.

“I was furious at her persistent calls, but the patience and care she showed me made me trust her. I went to Matero Hospital at the CETA counselling room and shared my troubles. Before I left, I was put back on ART treatment.”

The CETA office became Ireen’s home, and she would frequently access Trauma-informed care. And after one year of accessing the services, she fully accepted and embraced her HIV situation. Ireen is now an active member of the CETA counselling group and uses her experience to encourage people with similar situations on how best to cope.

Working in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, and support from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), CETA has provided mental health care to 2805 recipients of care across 43 supported sites in Eastern, Southern, Lusaka and Western provinces, targeting males above 50 and young women and boys who include adolescents, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. Ireen Mulubwa is one of these clients that has benefitted from CETA.