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SIGNIFICANT strides are being made by scientists in their bid to find a cure for HIV/Aids and billions of dollars are being invested to overcome this pandemic but in the meantime we can only prevent and manage this condition. Zimbabwe has made great strides in the prevention and management of the HIV/Aids pandemic and we commend the government for its aggressive approach to the situation. It has adopted a multi-pronged strategy involving information dissemination encouraging behaviour change, condom use, voluntary testing, male circumcision and widespread roll out of anti-retroviral therapy.
So far, it appears to be succeeding in containing new infections, managing the condition for those on ART and preventing the spread of the disease through circumcision, encouraging condom use and exhorting couples to value fidelity.
Zimbabwe recorded the highest condom usage in the world over the last five years, according to the Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey of 2011. Condom use is the percentage of the population ages 15-24 who used a condom at last intercourse in the last 12 months and a recent World Bank survey found that about 51,8 percent of males used condoms in Zimbabwe.
Yesterday, we reported on these pages that the number of people dying from HIV and Aids had significantly dropped from a high of 170,000 in 2003 to about 60,000 last year, a development attributed to government programmes in administering anti-retroviral therapy. The numbers include both adults and children.
According to a preliminary report of the 2013 HIV estimates presented to various Aids organisations in Harare on Tuesday, the number of adults who died in 2013 has gone down from 50,230 in 2012 to 49,605 in 2013. The number of deaths among children between 0 and 14 years has also gone down from about 36,000 (2003 statistics) to 10,795 in 2013. About 12,004 child deaths were recorded in 2012. Presenting the 2013 preliminary report, Ministry of Health and Child Care strategic information co-ordinator for the Aids and TB Unit, Dr Mutsa Mhangara, said the number of people living with HIV seems to have stabilised and stands at 14,4 percent.
Last year, the prevalence rate was 14,5 percent. Dr Mhangara said the number of people getting infected has also decreased from 1,18 percent in 2012 to 1,05 percent in 2013.
“Although this is a preliminary report, indications are that the number of people living with HIV and Aids in the country is stabilising as many people living with the virus are now surviving longer, while the number of people getting infected continues to drop,” he said.
Dr Mhangara attributed the decreases to various efforts being implemented, which include a successful anti-retroviral programme for both adults and children. He said although the figures were yet to be validated, indications were that the country was doing well in terms of response to HIV.
We are encouraged by these figures and implore people to complement government efforts by changing their attitudes towards the disease.
Research has indicated that behaviour change is critical to managing HIV/Aids. Despite the notable successes the country has scored in its fight against the pandemic, it still has one of the highest HIV prevalence in the world. What is especially worrying for the two provinces of Matabeleland and Bulawayo is that while prevalence is decreasing in other provinces, it stands at 21 percent for Matabeleland South, 19 percent for Bulawayo and 18 percent for Matabeleland North.
This has been attributed to spousal separation, high mobility and transactional sex in the border towns of Beitbridge, Plumtree and Victoria Falls. So, while on a national scale, we are recording successes, there are still pockets of resistance hence the need to intensify awareness campaigns in these areas. The fight against the HIV/Aids pandemic requires the participation of everyone because the disease affects entire families, decimating them even, and it is in the national interest that we win this war.
Online Reporter