Vusumuzi Dube
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
BULAWAYO City Council has responded to the misleading reports published in some media outlets which stated that 90 percent of women in Bulawayo are HIV positive and that there is a 71.7 percent positivity rate saying the information was misinterpreted.
In a statement, the acting Town Clerk Dr Edwin Mzingwane said the articles were misleading to the public.
“Both articles took the City of Bulawayo out of context and sensationalised the information. The data was extracted from the Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid and Camera (VIAC) program that targets mainly HIV positive women as we screen for cervical cancer (Women who are already on the Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) and have been confirmed HIV positive) with a few who are HIV negatives screened as well,” said Dr Mzingwane.
The acting Town Clerk said VIAC, is an effective way to prevent cervical cancer in women age 30-50 years old. It involves examining the opening of the womb, or the cervix, for changes that might lead to cancer. If these changes are detected early, the cells can be eliminated before they become cancerous. The cells are usually removed using a method called cryotherapy, or another method called Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure (LEEP).
“The City of Bulawayo offers the VIAC services targeting mainly HIV positive women whilst offering the service also to HIV negative women. Therefore, the reports cited in the above- named articles are not representative of the HIV positivity rates in general among the Bulawayo population but skewed programmatically towards HIV positive women attending clinics for cervical cancer screening.
90% of women aged between 16 and 50 plus tested for HIV in Bulawayo in June 2024″said Dr Mzingwane.
Nationally the HIV prevalence for the 15-49 years age group is 10.49 percent and the HIV prevalence for Bulawayo is 11.75 percent.
Prevalence refers to the proportion of old and new HIV infections per population.
Positivity is the proportion of HIV positive infections of the total number of Women living with HIV are six times more likely to develop cervical cancer compared to women without HIV (WHO, 2024) and hence the VIAC programme aimed at early detection of cervical cancer.
The City of Bulawayo further said the media plays a key role in disseminating health information and there is need to ensure accurate health reports are issued as they affect the knowledge and health beliefs of the public.
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Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter