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Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Chronicle Reporter
Matabeleland South province’s high HIV prevalence has been attributed to its proximity to South Africa and Botswana.
According to statistics from the National Aids Council (Nac) Matabeleland South Province has the highest HIV prevalence rate in the country at 17,1 percent followed by Matabeleland North with 14,5 percent and Bulawayo at 13,7 percent.
Mashonaland Central has the lowest prevalence rate at 0,2 percent followed by Manicaland with 10,2 percent.
Tsholotsho is the district with the highest prevalence rate at 21,9 percent while Binga has the lowest at 5,3 percent. The country’s prevalence rate is estimated at 11,9 percent.
Speaking on Friday during Matabeleland South Provincial launch of the Zimbabwe National HIV and Aids Strategic Plan IV 2021-2025 in Gwanda, National Aids Council (Nac) monitoring and evaluation director, Mr Amon Mpofu attributed the high prevalence rate in Matabeleland to high mobility and spousal separation among other issues.
“Matabeleland South has the highest prevalence rate followed by Matabeleland North and then Bulawayo. Matabeleland South and North are high because they share borders with South Africa and Botswana which have high HIV prevalence.
There is a lot of movement of people from the neighbouring countries into our borders. Spousal separation in Matabeleland is also a contributing factor as many people are working either in Botswana or South Africa while their spouses are left behind. This increases cases of infidelity,” he said.
Mr Mpofu said the road network which passes through Matabeleland was also a threat.
“There are a lot of trucks that pass through and have stop overs in places such as Beitbridge. These truck drivers attract sex workers. Small scale miners in Matabeleland South province are also a target for sex workers,” he said.
Mr Mpofu said there was a need for stakeholders from Matabeleland to design HIV prevention strategies that will be tailor- made to suit the targeted population.
He said for example condom distribution points could be mounted along the highways during holidays when most people that work in the neighbouring countries will be around.
He said traditional leaders were also crucial stakeholders in the fight against the pandemic.
“In Binga the prevalence rate is low and this can be attributed to the fact that the population there is deep rooted in their culture. Cultural values are important in the fight against the pandemic and there is need for us to engage traditional leaders to instill cultural values,” he said.
Speaking at the same launch, Matabeleland South Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister, Cde Abedinico Ncube said various stakeholders had to develop policies, programmes and services as well as allocate funds to fight HIV.
“This can be achieved through accelerating and scaling up HIV programmes and transitioning the national response into a sustainable phase.
“The latest HIV estimates indicate that the number of new HIV infections is falling in the province although we still have the highest prevalence in the country. ZNASP key guiding principle is results based management, which call on all of us to ensure interventions remain on course and aimed at the overall impact results, which are clearly spelt out in the national strategic plan,” he said.
The National Aids Council has launched the Zimbabwe National HIV and Aids Strategic Plan IV 2021-2025 (ZNASP IV) whose vision is to end HIV as a public health threat by 2030 through accelerating the scale up of HIV programmes and transitioning the HIV response into a sustainable phase.
It also seeks to reduce the mortality rate to less than five percent by 2025 and eliminate HIV related stigma and discrimination.
The strategic plan has been developed to guide HIV programming, resource allocation and implementation of the HIV response for the next five years.
Some of the strategies under ZNASP include condom programming. Under this strategy condom promotion interventions will be scaled up to position condoms as a life-saving device; differentiated condom distribution channels tailored to specific populations will be expanded; condom demand creation will be intensified and monitoring and evaluation systems for condom programming will be strengthened to provide quality data.
In addition, advocacy for domestic funding for condom procurement will be scaled up to sustain the programme in the long term.
Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) will also be scaled up in districts with low coverage while those with over 80 percent coverage will transition into the VMMC sustainability phase. Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) will be scaled up in all districts targeting all persons at risk of HIV infection.
HIV testing services will aim at ensuring 95 percent of people living with HIV know their status through intensifying high yield testing models appropriate for different populations, rolling out a package of services for those testing HIV negative, integrating stigma reduction into mobilisation approaches and strengthening community-facility linkage to improve initiation on ART for those testing HIV positive.
Reduction of HIV stigma and discrimination programming will focus on generating comprehensive data in stigma index to establish a baseline and support programming; strengthening monitoring and reporting mechanisms for HIV stigma and discrimination and developing a comprehensive programme to reduce stigma and discrimination implemented through integration with other HIV programmes.
ZNASP IV will be implemented through a multisectoral and decentralised approach. NAC will play a leading role in coordinating ZNASP IV implementation. –@DubeMatutu
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