Chronicle Editor
Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, Senior Health Reporter
A total of 7 752 new sexually transmitted infections (STIs) were recorded in Bulawayo in 2021, raising calls for consistent and correct use of condoms to help the province reduce infections, including HIV.
During the same period, a total of 1 416 new HIV infections were recorded in the city, which has the third highest HIV prevalence rate (13,7 percent) in Zimbabwe after Matabeleland South (17,1 percent) and Matabeleland North (14,5 percent).
A staggering 12,6 million public sector condoms were also distributed in 2021 and the bulk of the condoms are male condoms as the uptake of female condoms remains low.
Statistics from the National Aids Council (Nac) shows that the most affected age group is 24-49 years and women accounted for 55 percent of the STIs recorded.
Twenty-five STIs were recorded from individuals under the age of five years, four cases were among females aged 5-9 years while 12 cases were recorded among those aged 10-14.
A total of 1 300 STIs were recorded among females aged 20-24 compared to 754 recorded among males in the same age group.
Bulawayo Nac provincial manager Mrs Sinatra Nyathi said STIs can be transmitted via unprotected sexual intercourse and intimate skin-to-skin contact.
“It is important that STIs be reduced as it can also minimise chances of HIV infection. From the total recorded cases, eight percent of those tested positive to HIV.
However, we noted that HIV positivity for both males and females reduced from 11 percent in 2019 to eight percent in 2021 for males and from 12 percent in 2019 to nine percent in 2021 for females. The highest positivity is noted in the age band 25-49, while no positivity was recorded in the ages below 14 years,” said Mrs Nyathi.
She said the province distributed 2 667 798 condoms in 2021.
“Of these, 2 588 290 were male and 79 508 were female condoms. The popularity of the female condom is not increasing as desired,” said Mrs Nyathi.
The Covid-19 lockdowns and other restrictions affected the HIV programmes which probably explains the decrease in the number of people that tested for HIV throughout the year.
“It is noted that over the three-year period, there has been a decrease in the number of people tested for HIV and the same trend is maintained in the number of clients testing positive for HIV.
The age group 30 and above recorded the highest positivity rates for both males and females,” said Mrs Nyathi.
She said Bulawayo conducted 15 807 HIV tests in 2021.
Bulawayo has also become the first city in Zimbabwe to join the Paris Declaration Fast Track Cities, an initiative to help cities commit to ending HIV/Aids by 2030.
The city signed a memorandum of understanding with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAIDS) and its partners last year to join more than 300 cities in the world that have committed to the initiative to scale up efforts to end the pandemic. – @thamamoe
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