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Gibson Mhaka
THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has dismissed as alarmingly false, reports circulating in the media and on social media platforms, which claimed that 90 percent of women aged 16 to 50 years who were tested for HIV in June 2024 were found positive.
The refuted reports claimed a BCC report showed that at least 2 641 women tested positive for HIV from the 2 984 who had undergone testing.
However, in a statement, Acting Town Clerk, Dr Edwin (Sibanda) Mzingwane, said the figures were taken out of context and misrepresented, adding that the news articles sensationalised the data, leading to unnecessary panic.
“The City of Bulawayo notes with concern recent articles with the headlines: Alarming statistics on HIV-positive women in Bulawayo, Alarming statistics in Bulawayo, HIV testing reveals 71,7 positivity rates among women, on various publications and social media posts stating the following: 90% of women aged between 16 and 50-plus tested for HIV in Bulawayo in June 2024. 71,7% positivity rate among women,” said Dr Mzingwane.
He stated that nationally, the HIV prevalence for the 15-49 years’ age group is 10,49% and the HIV prevalence for Bulawayo is 11,75%.
Dr Mzingwane said the misleading figures were drawn from a specific health programme, the Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid and Camera (VIAC) initiative, which targeted a specific group of women.
“The data was extracted from the Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid and Camera (VIAC) Programme that targets mainly HIV positive women as we screen for cervical cancer (women who are already on the Antiretroviral treatment (ART) and have been confirmed as HIV-Positive) with a few who are HIV negative screened as well.
“Women living with HIV are six times more likely to develop cervical cancer compared to women without HIV (WHO, 2024) and hence the VIAC programme aimed at early detection of cervical cancer. VIAC is an effective way to prevent cervical cancer in women aged 30-50 years old,” said Dr Mzingwane.
He added: “It involves examining the opening of the womb, or the cervix, for changes that might lead to cancer. If these changes are detected early, the cells can be eliminated before they become cancerous.
The cells are usually removed using a method called cryotherapy, or another method called Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure (LEEP)”.
Dr Mzingwane said the City of Bulawayo offers the VIAC services targeting mainly HIV-positive women whilst offering the service also to HIV-negative women.
“Therefore, the reports cited in the above-named articles are not representative of the HIV positivity rates in general among the Bulawayo population but skewed programmatically towards HIV-positive women attending clinics for cervical cancer screening.
“The City of Bulawayo further notes that the media plays a key role in disseminating health information and there is a need to ensure accurate health reports are issued as they affect the knowledge and health beliefs of the public,” he said.
Online Reporter