Vusumuzi Dube
Robin Muchetu in Chinhoyi
MATABELELAND South Province continues to top the list of areas hard hit by HIV and Aids, with its districts having the highest prevalence rate of 21.9 percent.
Mashonaland Central and Manicaland provinces recorded the lowest prevalence rates.
This was highlighted at the beginning of a two-day training workshop for journalists organised by the National Aids Council (NAC) in Chinhoyi this Tuesday by Mr Isaac Taramusi who gave an overview of the HIV and Aids situation in Zimbabwe.
The incidence rate which is the rate of annual new cases/infections that are recorded each year stands at 0.27 percent for Zimbabwe, a decline from the past five years.
However, incidence rates vary according to age, sex and also geographical location.
“Incidence vary by age and sex, looking at Zimbabwe this rate is higher in young people in the 15 to 19 age group which could be a sign of several things like inter-generational sex. However, it must also be noted that it is six times higher in females than in males,” said Mr Taramusi.
Muzarabani District in Mashonaland Central is reported to have the lowest incidence rate of 0.11 percent while Bulima in Matabeleland South tops the list with 0.63 percent.
Some of the reasons that were mentioned for being the high drivers of HIV in Bulilima include the fact that the district falls in a border town of Plumtree and border towns generally have a large number of people who are in transit hence the high risk of infections.
Rumbidzai Mugawagwa the Assistant Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV and Congenital syphilis officer said Zimbabwe is targeting to reach the gold tier in the Path to Elimination of Mother to Child Transition of HIV.
The aim, she said is to ensure that 95 percent of women who visit health institutions for booking are tested for HIV.
However, the Ministry of Health and Child Care has so far seen 254 477 women in the first six months of the year on their first visit to an antenatal clinic.
“Zimbabwe is not reaching all expectant mothers for their first antenatal care visit also because some of the mothers come already HIV positive. With the Covid-19 era, some expectant mothers failed to visit the clinics because there were travel restrictions, transport challenges and some health centres even closed down because of the virus,” she said.
The two-day workshop is aimed at capacitating the media on the status regarding the response to HIV and related conditions.
The workshop also aims at discussing how the media can contribute to ending Aids by 2030.
@NyembeziMu
Online Reporter