Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya
Beitbridge Bureau
THE International Organisation for Migration’s (IOM) “HIV Knows No Borders” programme is helping to transform attitudes towards HIV testing, sexual and reproductive health, and child protection among mobile and vulnerable communities in the Beitbridge migration corridor.
IOM Zimbabwe Chief of Mission Ms Diana Cartier said the programme’s success stems from its community-centred approach, which brings healthcare and awareness services directly to people living and working along one of Southern Africa’s busiest migration routes.
Ms Cartier made the remarks during a recent field visit to Beitbridge with the Netherlands Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Matthijs Pieter van Eeuwen.
Beitbridge handles thousands of cross-border travellers, truck drivers, informal traders, deportees and returning migrants daily, creating unique public health challenges, including interrupted HIV treatment, limited access to testing services, stigma and increased vulnerability to transactional sex.
Supported by the Government of the Netherlands, IOM launched the “SRHR-HIV Knows No Borders” programme in 2023.
The regional initiative operates in seven Southern African countries — Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi, Lesotho and Eswatini.
“In Beitbridge, we have been working with the Government of Zimbabwe for almost 20 years, supporting people who would have been deported from South Africa or those coming back in a vulnerable state,” she said.
“Then on the HIV Knows no Borders, we started it with the support of the Netherlands Government.
“We were also addressing issues of understanding HIV and the importance of knowing one’s status.”
Ms Cartier said IOM had introduced a mobile health clinic which goes to 10 different locations within the district 10 times a month.
This, she added, has seen more men embracing issues of sexual reproductive health and that they are now accessing medical care directly within their communities without having to travel for longer distances.
“This has also brought a change in attitudes to issues of child protection. The benefits will be long-lasting,” said Ms Cartier.
She said the impact goes beyond clinic numbers and that after spending two days in the district with the Netherlands Ambassador, she noted clear progress in community attitudes.
“The progress on the ground is noted,” she said. “This has also brought a change in attitudes to issues of child protection. The benefits will be long-lasting.”
She said they were also supporting community dialogues, which run alongside the clinic visits to tackle myths about HIV, gender-based violence and child marriage – issues often heightened in migration settings where family structures are disrupted.
In most areas in Beitbridge, traditional leaders now publicly support testing campaigns and encourage parents to keep children in school instead of sending them to cross the border for informal work.
Speaking during the same field visit Ambassador Eeuwen said the increase in dialogue and the improved treatment and engagements in the community need to be sustained through the building of more infrastructure.
He said with the right attitude, coordination and teamwork he had seen on the ground, the HIV intervention programmes will go on for several years, saving more lives and changing attitudes.
The Government is fully committed to ending AIDS as a public health threat and achieving zero new HIV infections by 2030.
This position aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is a key healthcare priority integrated into the country’s national economic blueprint, Vision 2030.
At the moment, the country is widely recognised as a global leader in epidemic control, having already surpassed the global 95-95-95 targets (with 97 percent of people living with HIV knowing their status, 95 percent on antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 96 percent virally suppressed).
The Government’s position has shifted from standard epidemic management to aggressive, targeted prevention and sustainable elimination.
