1 000 get tested for HIV

Walter Nyamukondiwa Mashonaland West Bureau
At least 1 000 people were tested for HIV and other conditions in various districts of Mashonaland West province during musical galas and other campaigns organised by the National Aids Council (NAC) across the province during the past two weeks.

Musical galas accompanied by health services in Mhangura (Makonde District) and Raffingora (Zvimba District) saw thousands of people attending the shows.

Some of the people who attended the galas were tested for various conditions, including HIV and chronic conditions such as diabetes and cervical cancer screening.

Of the 926 people tested for HIV during the two events, at least 20 people tested positive, while several others received family planning services and were screened for diabetes and cancer.

Speaking at the Raffingora gala recently, Zvimba district nursing officer Mr Kingford Chivende implored Government and its partners to continue working hard to have people know their status, access anti-retroviral treatment and suppressing viral load to manageable levels.

“As Zvimba district, efforts are being made to scale up programmes and target vulnerable groups in addressing the key drivers of HIV,” he said.

“I want to call on programme implementers to be innovative and develop new interventions which target all groups and couples.

“We must deliberately target key populations and employees, especially male workers who are usually miss out on many mainstream prevention programmes.”

Mr Chivende said while new infections were on the decline among adults, they were worryingly high among young people.

To that end, he said, interventions should be tailored-made to reach more adolescent girls and boys in adition to targeting young women and men.

Mr Chivende said the district was now implementing Global Fund-supported programmes, including the Sista2Sista programme targeting young women and the male mobilisation programme to increase uptake of health-related services among men.

He also hailed the NAC galas as key in reaching people that would not normally seek the services being offered for various reasons including fear of stigma.