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As COVID-19 has spread around the world, Apple has redirected RED proceeds to the Response Mechanism and will do so through June 30, 2021

In a sprawling warehouse in Lusaka, a truck has been loaded with boxes of life-saving antiretroviral drugs and begins a two-hour drive west of Zambia's capital. It's on its way to a rural health clinic in Mwembeshi, and today there are additions to its usual cargo: boxes of face masks and face shields from Apple to help in the fight against COVID-19.

This year, COVID-19 dramatically changed the healthcare landscape, and the Global Fund, which coordinates these broadcasts to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, had to act quickly to respond to this second pandemic. The COVID-19 Response Mechanism was put in place, adapting the existing Global Fund programs so that people receiving life-saving treatments, including lifelong antiretroviral therapy, can continue to do so safely.

The Apple company started working with (RED) in 2006 and has launched dozens of products and accessories as part of the campaign, including the latest iPhone 12 and iPhone SE RED. As a result of these sales, Apple and its customers raised nearly $ 250 million / £ 187 million for the Global Fund's efforts in sub-Saharan Africa.

As COVID-19 spread around the world, Apple continued to steer RED towards the response mechanism and will do so through June 30, 2021. Apple also donated millions of units of personal protective equipment (PPE) to the Ministry of Health in Zambia. This includes both surgical face masks that Apple sourced from its supply chain and face shields designed and manufactured by Apple.

Back at the Mwembeshi Rural Health Center, the truck loaded with antiretroviral drugs and PPE from Apple has arrived and is picked up by staff like Prosperina Mwanza, who runs the clinic.

"This provision of PSA will go a long way in reducing the transmission of infections," says Mwanza, who has found COVID-19 is severely affecting her clinic, especially among HIV patients receiving antiretroviral treatment. "The biggest challenge right now is that people are no longer coming for follow-ups because they feel like they are interacting with people with COVID-19."

It is a challenge faced by medical professionals across Zambia and sub-Saharan Africa. Yoram Siame is the director of advocacy, planning and development at Churches Health Association in Zambia (CHAZ), the country's largest non-governmental health care provider.

"People are now afraid to go to health facilities," says Siame. “This is a very big problem for people living with HIV because when you talk about COVID-19, people with pre-existing diseases are killed disproportionately. How do you ensure that people who are treated for life are supported? How do you get to a healthcare facility at the same time knowing that you are safe? So it's a difficult balancing act. "

The Global Fund responded by adjusting its health services to ensure rapid quality of COVID-19 testing and diagnostic equipment, improve the delivery of treatments to local communities, and provide health education tools for health workers in the community.

"The Global Fund changed the game," says Siame. “We were able to reuse some of the money on personal protective equipment for health workers, increase our testing capacity (COVID-19) and respond at the community level to help people understand what COVID-19 means to them and their families. "

Thirty miles east of Mwembeshi, Cardinal Adam Memorial Hospital received its first shipment of Apple PPE a few weeks ago. Samson Tembo is a retired military officer who has been the hospital's HIV program coordinator for the past two years. “The PPE is very important because it helps protect workers physically and free work mentally,” says Tembo.

As the COVID-19 pandemic worsened, he had to adjust his treatment plans as many of his patients stayed at home.

"We had to give patients longer than usual medication so people didn't have to come to the facility as often," says Tembo. “Because of this, we don't know if they are taking the medication correctly in terms of compliance. As a clinician, I need to know how they're doing out there. So if I don't see them regularly it becomes a problem. "

“With disruptors like COVID-19, we know we still have a lot of work to do to get to this point. However, I think COVID-19 was evidence of the (Global Fund's) ability to adapt to changing circumstances, ”commented Prosperina Mwanza, Mwembeshi Rural Health Center.