BATTLE AGAINST HIV AND AIDS: TIME FOR ZIM TO REFOCUS

Forward Nyanyiwa in CARLOW, Ireland

THE ongoing debate over Zimbabwe’s decision to discontinue negotiations with the United States over health funding has revealed a number of things – not just about international aid and relations but also about morality and healthcare sovereignty.

First the inequalities and power imbalances in international aid is something which is pretty much in everything in a world where power and domination is exercised in the Global North against those in Global South.

It is a legacy of many dimensions.

Be that as it may, the conversation we must now have is not what Zimbabwe rejected.

No!

The real story and debate should now pivot on what the country must do to safeguard gains and positive strides done in recent years in the fight against HIV and Aids.

Zimbabwe has travelled this path before, not once, not twice, but on several occasions.

In 2011, Zimbabwe was left out of the PEPFAR’s list of 15 “focus countries” because of Western hostility towards the country.

Zimbabwe had an HIV prevalence of 15% in 2011 and received US$200m in direct US funding for HIV/Aids since 2003 while a “focus country” Ethiopia, which has an HIV prevalence rate of 1.5%, received US$1.6bn.

Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic was an eye-opener too.

When disaster strikes, foreign goodwill has boundaries.

We witnessed export bans, vaccine nationalism and poor supply chains but still the country emerged, scathed yes, but with lessons learnt.

Zimbabwe needs to recalibrate.

The country has to revert to basics.

That has worked wonders before, it is a road we have manoeuvred before.

Commendably, Zimbabwe is fast learning from these experiences.

Presenting the 2026 national budget late last year, Government met the 15% public financing threshold set by the African union under the 2009 Abuja Declaration joining only Botswana and Rwanda to achieve that milestone.

Focus must now shift to the execution.

Figures on paper must now translate to plugging whatever holes will emerge, the allocation must result in pharmacies stocked with antiretroviral medications, functional laboratories, improved condom distribution, well-funded HIV and Aids initiatives and programmes and motivated healthcare workers.

The 15% budget allocation, if stitched together with the Aids Levy, and other domestic interventions, must help thwart any dangers in the HIV fight.

The recalibration should go back to the ‘90’s model when Zimbabwe first fought the once deadly HIV and Aids pandemic.

The Government, through the Ministry of Health and Child Care and other relevant stakeholders, must concentrate on the basics.

Community involvement should now be re-strategised.

Community response has been the country’s dangerous weapon in this fight.

Community health workers must now get more attention.

There has been an influx of young people training in nurse aide courses to join the great trek west.

This can be the starting point.

Government needs to re-orient the public on the job at hand.

Motivation to health care workers must be prioritised and, in the case of village health care workers, transport in the form of motor bikes and bicycles must be provided.

It is us, only us , none but ourselves who can fight this pandemic and protect the gains which we have achieved so far.

There is need for robust awareness programmes on behavioural change.

The packaging must centre on abstinence, one sexual partner, faithfulness and proper condom use.

The messaging must be on-going and repetitive to reinforce key information across all channels to improve audience recall, trust and comprehension. Preventive measures must be taught and hammered.

The country has done this before and can do it again.

However, Zimbabwe also faces a new generation, a generation of “Ama2k”.

This generation has never witnessed people suffering and dying from HIV and Aids-related illness as was the case back in the ‘90s.

The generation doesn’t know what the country went through back in the ‘90’s.

They are ignorant, they are stubborn.

To them, pregnancy is a worry more than acquiring HIV and Aids.

They are concerned about contraceptives and preventing pregnancy than guarding against getting infected.

This is the target group worth focusing on.

The clergy must be involved, the teachers must play a part and the entertainment industry must support.

In this era of skits and technology, peer education and positive messaging can be achieved.

The country is now sitting on the fence, with two sides to fall on.

We can’t afford to fall on the reversal side.