Online Reporter
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu [email protected]
THE Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC) has expressed concern over rising sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among young people in Matabeleland South, with Gwanda
District recording an STI positivity rate of 16,2 percent among youths who were tested.
The increase comes against a worrying backdrop of high teenage pregnancies, with Matabeleland South recording a rate of more than 30 percent, above the national average of 23 percent.
Health authorities say the province’s highly mobile population, particularly in mining communities, poverty-driven transactional sex and challenges in tracing and treating sexual partners are complicating efforts to curb the spread of STIs and HIV among young people.
The concerns have renewed calls for stronger interventions as Zimbabwe intensifies efforts to end Aids as a public health threat by 2030.
Speaking during a recent visit by the Joint Portfolio Committee on Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development and the Thematic Committee on HIV and AIDS, ZNFPC Matabeleland South provincial manager Mr Blessed Gumbi said young people were increasingly at risk.
The parliamentary committees were conducting public hearings on access to HIV and sexual reproductive health and rights.
Mr Gumbi said the highly transient nature of communities in Matabeleland South, particularly those centred around mining activities, was contributing to the spread of STIs.
He said poverty-driven transactional sex in some mining communities was also undermining efforts to control STIs and HIV.
“We are faced with an increase in STI cases, especially among the youths, and we have engaged champions to help us with campaigns against this sudden increase. We are using social media influencers to ensure that we nip the spread in the bud.
“Matabeleland South is basically a very high HIV-burden province, with high teenage pregnancy, above the national average of 23 percent, while we are above 30 percent,” said Mr Gumbi.
He said managing STIs among adolescents and young people aged between 15 and 24 remained challenging, particularly because of difficulties in tracing sexual partners for testing and treatment.
“Partner tracing for STI treatment among adolescents, which is the age group between 15 and 24 years, is a challenge, compounded by inadequate resources to reach the last mile of young people.
Inadequate resources are making it difficult to reach young people in underserved communities,” said Mr Gumbi.
Health experts say untreated sexual partners can result in reinfection, making partner notification, testing and treatment critical in breaking the cycle of transmission.
Mr Gumbi said ZNFPC was responding by providing integrated sexual and reproductive health services under one roof while also adopting new approaches to reach young people where they spend most of their time — including on social media.
“As we tap into all avenues of information dissemination, we noticed that young people are into social media, hence we engaged social media champions who cascade messages targeting young people about responsible sexual engagement, seeking STI treatment early and abstinence,” he said.
Mr Gumbi said community champions and social media influencers had been enlisted to spread awareness and encourage young people to seek treatment early, while helping to reduce stigma surrounding sexual and reproductive health services.
He called for increased Government funding to strengthen outreach programmes, including the provision of dedicated mobile clinical vehicles and equipment to reach students at tertiary institutions and young people living in hard-to-reach communities.
Mr Gumbi also stressed the need to strengthen youth-led health education and outreach initiatives.
“STIs pose a particular challenge among young people with multiple or concurrent sexual partners because untreated partners can contribute to reinfection. Effective management therefore requires not only treatment of the individual but also partner notification, testing and treatment.
“As ZNFPC, we seek to address these challenges through expanded, free and youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services aimed at improving early treatment, reducing stigma and removing barriers that prevent young people from accessing care,” he said.
The parliamentary committees said the concerns raised during their visit highlighted the need to strengthen infrastructure and resources for institutions providing sexual and reproductive health services.
Speaking during a tour of the ZNFPC facility, chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on HIV and Aids, Senator Angeline Kumbirai Tongogara, said the institution required adequate support to meet the growing needs of the community.
She said the committee would take issues raised during the visit, including shortages of space at the facility, to Parliament.
“We will take the issues that have been raised here to Parliament, particularly the shortage of space at the facility. This facility is doing a good job for the community. We need to ensure that it is fully equipped.
“We are impressed as the parliamentary committee and we feel we need to support this institution because it serves a critical part of our population,” she said.Sen Tongogara said the limited space at the clinic was affecting service delivery, noting that the facility could only accommodate four people at a time.
“Some of the issues of concern include the waiting shelter, which is very critical because this place is very small. Their clinic only takes four people.
“We also invite other like-minded companies to come in and help the situation because we cannot do it alone,” she said.
The rising STI cases and teenage pregnancy rates have placed renewed emphasis on the need to take sexual and reproductive health services closer to young people, particularly those in mining communities and other underserved areas.
