Online Reporter
Fungai Lupande
Mashonaland Central Bureau
A united front involving Government ministries, churches, the private sector, civil society and communities has emerged in Mashonaland Central as stakeholders intensify efforts to safeguard hard-won gains in the fight against HIV and AIDS and to ensure the country reaches epidemic control by 2030.
Speaking recently, during a provincial HIV and AIDS sensitisation workshop held at Sterling Lodge in Mvurwi, National AIDS Council (NAC) Mashonaland Central provincial manager Mr Edgar Muzulu said the province had made progress but warned that new infections among adolescent girls and young women, drug and substance abuse among youths and risky sexual behaviours remained major threats.
The workshop brought together heads of government ministries and departments, captains of industry, faith-based organisations, institutions of higher learning, people living with HIV and civic society leaders.
Mr Muzulu said Mashonaland Central’s HIV prevalence stands at about 10 percent, placing the province in the moderate category.
“Although our epidemic is no longer as widespread as it used to be, we are not yet out of the woods,” he said.
“We are moving towards epidemic control, but there are certain groups that have been left behind, and our focus now is on ensuring that no one and no place is left behind.”
He said adolescent girls and young women aged between 15 and 24 continued to bear the brunt of new infections, while young men faced increased vulnerability due to drug and substance abuse and other risky behaviours.
Mazowe district has the highest number of people living with HIV owing to its large population, while Bindura now records the highest incidence of new infections, overtaking Mazowe.
Shamva follows closely, with Guruve and parts of Mt Darwin also showing worrying increases.
Mr Muzulu attributed the rise in infections to intergenerational relationships, gender-based violence, teenage pregnancies and the province’s thriving artisanal mining activities.
“We are seeing young girls getting attracted to older men who have disposable incomes,” he said.
“Unfortunately, protection is often minimal in such relationships. Gold mining activities have also created an economic environment that attracts commercial sex workers, thereby increasing vulnerability to HIV infection.”
To counter the threat, NAC and the Ministry of Health and Child Care are implementing a combination prevention approach incorporating HIV testing services, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), voluntary medical male circumcision, condom programming and targeted interventions for key populations.
Mr Muzulu said HIV services were now being integrated with screening and treatment for non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and mental health disorders.
“We are no longer focusing on HIV in isolation. We are adopting a holistic, patient-centred approach so that when people come for HIV services, they are also screened for other conditions affecting their health and wellbeing,” he said.
He said differentiated service delivery models and community-based interventions were helping to reach hard-to-access groups, including artisanal miners, sex workers and persons with disabilities.
Mr Muzulu challenged heads of ministries and industry leaders to use their influence and resources to strengthen workplace HIV and AIDS programmes.
“These leaders control budgets and resources. Once empowered with knowledge, they can deliberately allocate resources to support employees infected and affected by HIV and AIDS,” he said.
“Our expectation is increased implementation of workplace HIV interventions across the province.”
Acting Director for Provincial Coordination in Mashonaland Central Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister’s office, Mr Kudzai Chimusoro, said the Government fully supported the integrated approach being championed by NAC.
“We want a healthy workforce because healthy employees perform better physically, mentally and emotionally,” he said.
“That is why the Government introduced wellness programmes and set aside days dedicated to promoting health and wellbeing among workers.
“In this era of results-based management, success can only come through a whole-of-Government approach.
“If we work together, we will achieve our goal of quality health and ultimately ensure that no one dies from HIV and AIDS.”
Church leaders also pledged to strengthen their role in fighting stigma and promoting treatment adherence.
Chairperson of faith-based organisations in Mashonaland Central, Bishop Abednego Ndoga, said churches should be safe havens for people living with HIV.
“People suffering from HIV and AIDS must find safety in the church. We should support them through prayer, fight stigma and discrimination and educate our congregants,” he said.
“People must not live in denial or delay seeking medical attention because early testing and treatment save lives.”
Bishop Ndoga urged churches to encourage members to adhere to medication and care for vulnerable children orphaned by AIDS.
“We are partners with the Government in this fight. We are in this together, and we will win together,” he said.
Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University Deputy Registrar for Human Resources, Mrs Margaret Makaita Mukosi, said tertiary institutions had a critical responsibility to protect the country’s future workforce.
“We deal with young people every day and they are highly exposed to HIV and AIDS. We need to equip them with accurate information and guide them against behaviours that expose them to infection, including drug and substance abuse,” she said.
With Zimbabwe targeting the end of AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, stakeholders at the Mvurwi workshop expressed optimism that stronger partnerships and community-driven interventions would preserve the gains achieved over the years and accelerate progress towards a healthier nation.
