CALL FOR NEW STRATEGIES TO INTEGRATE HIV, NCDS SERVICES

Talent Gore

ZIMBABWE needs to implement new strategies to integrate HIV and Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) services as people living with HIV are at higher risk of contracting NCDs.

Director of the Zimbabwe NCDs Action Network (ZNAN), Jacob Ngwenya, said many people living with HIV were still unable to access the NCD care they need.

“The ability to live a long, healthy life is now the reality for most people living with HIV but this progress is under threat,” he said.

“By 2035, a projected 71 percent of the nearly 40 million people living with HIV worldwide will be living with one or more non-communicable diseases (NCDs) — such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, and mental health conditions.

“Revolutionary medicines and expanded access to screening and treatment around the world have transformed HIV from being a death sentence into a chronically manageable disease, people living with HIV now enjoy life spans equal to those who do not have HIV.”

Ngwenya said the cruel irony of that success is that many people living with HIV now face the same NCD challenges as older adults, but with even higher risks.

“People living with HIV are twice as likely to have cardiovascular disease, women with HIV have six times the risk of cervical cancer,” he said.

“One in three individuals with HIV live with depression, there is an increased risk of diabetes among those with HIV.”

Ngwenya added that this year, many people living with HIV are still unable to access the NCD care they need, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

“Continued barriers include limited or lack of access to care, lack of NCD awareness among medical professionals, availability of diagnosis and treatment, out-of-pocket payments and stigma in communities and health centres,” he said.

“The case for integration of NCD prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care within HIV services cannot be overstated.”