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Danisa Masuku
THE National Aids Council of Zimbabwe (NAC) has expressed concern over high levels of drug abuse which in turn accelerate the number of new HIV infections in Bulawayo. A�
Speaking to B-Metro, provincial national Aids co-ordinator for Bulawayo province, Sinatra Nyathi said her organisation had noted with concern that youths engage in unprotected sex after taking drugs and other intoxicating substances.
a�?Usually when most of the youths are partying they take drugs such as alcohol and marijuana and after that they engage in group sex without protection. There are high chances one could contract the HIV virus and in addition girls are left with unwanted pregnancies,a�? she said.
She said in most cases, teenage girls who fell pregnant failed to disclose to their parents that they were expecting fearing a tongue lashing.
Nyathi said as such the pregnant teenage girls would subsequently fail to access the Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) within 72 hours.
Thus having failed to disclose their pregnancy, those who are HIV positive would fail to access the Parent to Mother Child Transmission (PMTC).A� As a result the unborn child would also contract the HIV virus.
To mitigate the challenge NAC is rolling out a programme in secondary schools to empower pupils. The programme is code named Determined, Resilient, Empowered, Aids free, Mentored and Safe women (Dreams) and it is targeted at promoting behavioural change in adolescents. This comes against the background that Bulawayoa��s Magwegwe, Nkulumane and Robert Sinyoka suburbs have been identified as hotspots.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) an HIV and Aids hotspotA� is a geographical areaA� or location with evidence of high prevalenceA� of HIV, STIs or behavioursA� that put people at risk of acquiring HIV infection.
Active Youth Zimbabwe director Romio Matshazi said drug abuse was a serious concern given there were no rehabilitation facilities to assist drug addicts.
a�?Due to lack of rehabilitation centres in the country, patients recovering from drug addiction have nowhere to undergo vital processes such as drug addiction counselling and detoxification programmes,a�? he said.
A report compiled by Drug Free World and Active Youth Zimbabwe revealed that mbanje (marijuana) is the most frequently used illegal drug in Bulawayo a�� especially in the high density suburbs and Central Business Centre (CBD).
Alcohol is the second abused drug with cheap brandy and spirits, commonly referred to as hot stuff, the highest consumed followed by broncleer (ngoma) while cocaine is highly abused in the low density suburbs.
Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education statistics indicate that in 2014-2015 alone there were 310 pupils who fell foul of the law after being arrested for drug abuse. (See also Page 19).
derick.khumalo