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Innocent Madonko-Deputy Editor
THE National Aids Council and its development partners are engaged in an HIV/AIDS prevention and mitigation campaign in the Midlands province — with considerable success — in one of the country’s hotbeds of the pandemic.
With a prevalence rate of 11,73 percent and incidence rate of 0,25 percent, the Midlands province ranks among the country’s HIV hotspots largely due to its centrality which makes it a transport hub for traffic transiting to various destinations in Zimbabwe and beyond the country’s borders — and the presence of a mining belt along the Great Dyke which attracts artisanal miners.
Besides established mining companies in Kwekwe, Gweru, Shurugwi, Zvishavane and Mberengwa, there are thousands of artisanal miners commonly known as makorokoza who eke out a living digging for gold, chrome, emeralds, diamonds and lithium around the mineral rich province.
Using largely simple tools such as picks and shovels, these fortune hunters have become infamous around the country for their dangerous pastime which not only exposes them to the elements, but also separates them from their families for long periods of time.
The danger associated with their trade has made some of them reckless and brazen to the extent that they indulge in unprotected sex with sex workers who frequent their makeshift mines in search of business.
A recent tour of the Midlands province by senior editors from the country’s mainstream media houses facilitated by NAC revealed that Shurugwi is the epicentre of HIV in the province with a prevalence rate of 15,62 percent.
The area is a hive of activity due to the concentration of mining activities dominated by gold and chrome.
The largest integrated ferrochrome producer in Zimbabwe, Zimasco, and one of the biggest underground platinum mines in the country — Unki — are found in Shurugwi and around them are a plethora of small gold mines dotted around the area of the Great Dyke.
The scenic Boterekwa pass, an eight-kilometre spectacular and scenic undulating fold of meandering curves, is a sight to behold in Shurugwi.
However, the beautiful wonder of nature is in danger of being decimated by mining activities which have encroached into the valleys, disrupting the serene environment.
In Shurugwi town itself, there is a hive of activity encompassing small informal traders, artisanal miners, sex workers and truck drivers passing through the centre.
It is this vortex of people seemingly from totally different backgrounds, but bound together by a singular quest to eke out a living that has spawned the spread of HIV.
NAC Midlands Provincial Manager Mr Mambeu Shumba said Shurugwi has an HIV incidence (infection) rate of 0,4 percent, easily dwarfing bigger centres like Gweru, Kwekwe and Zvishavane.
Working with their development partners, he said, they had made inroads into reaching out to these communities through various programmes meant to educate them on HIV/AIDS awareness.
NAC is active in rural Shurugwi where it has established a centre (Chironde Rural Health Centre) for women from the apolostic sect in conjunction with the Apostolic Women Empowerment Trust.
NAC District Aids Coordinator for Shurugwi, Mr Peter Muzarakuza, said they were engaged in programming meant to reduce HIV in the area.
“Women from the apostolic sect here are at great risk of HIV because of their religious beliefs. Many young girls and women are married off early. Working with AWET, the girls and women are embracing our programmes,” he said.
The AWET Programme Manager for Ward 18 in Shurugwi, Mrs Ntombizodwa Revesai, said their aim was to create demand for family planning, institutional delivery for expecting mothers and use of proper ablution facilities.
Mrs Revesai is a member of the apostolic sect and this has enabled her to effectively relay these messages to women and young girls from her church.
“We speak the same language with the girls and women in the apostolic sect so our message is easily received,” she said.
Elsewhere in the Midlands, NAC is offering HIV, maternity and mentorship sessions to a group of sex workers in Gweru.
The provincial capital with a population of 202 000 people has more than 5,000 sex workers who frequent the area due to its proximity to mining areas and the presence of large tertiary institutions such as the Midlands State University ad some technical colleges.
Due to its advanced infrastructure, Gweru attracts artisanal miners intent on spending their loot, employees of mining companies and transit traffic to Bulawayo, Zvishavane and beyond the border posts of Plumtree and Beitbridge.
Because of this convergence of people, HIV prevalence is high with the incidence rate standing at 0,30 percent. However, there is a high uptake of Antiretroviral drugs with the ART coverage estimated at 93,9 percent.
Mr Petros Mazengwa, the DAC for Gweru, took the touring group of editors to a clinic in Senga township where some sex workers were being served with ARVs, maternity care and counselling sessions on avoiding contracting HIV in the course of their work. They gave testimonies on how they have been able to maintain good health despite the dangers associated with their work, attributing this to the excellent service they receive at the clinic.
There they get tested for HIV regularly and availed with condoms (both for men and women) and other services.
In Kwekwe, editors came face to face with amakorokoza, a daunting experience given their propensity for violence and reluctance to open up to outsiders.
Digging around the former Globe and Phoenix gold mine, the artisanal miners are a mix of young boys and older mature men all intent on striking gold (pun intended).
As our tour bus came to a halt, all eyes were fixated on us as we disembarked.
Given past experiences and scary tales told by those who have had unfortunate encounters with makorokoza, we were filled with trepidation and unease.
After much cajoling by their superiors, a group of artisanal miners and women seeking business from them reluctantly agreed to be interviewed.
We learnt that due to the nature of their “job”, makorokoza are given to spending nearly all of their proceeds in bars and nightclubs around Kwekwe while some sex workers brazenly solicit for business right at the doorstep of their “mines”.
While the women come bearing wares for sale, mainly foods such as fruit, sadza and relish, boiled eggs and so on, their real business is selling sex to makorokoza some of whom spend days in badly ventilated and unsecured underground mines.
“After surviving days digging for gold in a dark place with no ventilation, facing the danger of being buried underground, surviving dangerous territorial fights often with machetes, I feel I have earned the right to enjoy my money. The issue of using protection (during sex) is between me and the woman offering services.
“If I offer her enough money, we don’t have to use condoms. But we know about the dangers of unprotected sex. It’s a personal decision,” said one mukorokoza who declined to be named but appeared to be in his early 20s.
While some were openly hostile to the extent of demanding to know why we were there in the first place, others were aware of the need to spread the HIV/AIDS awareness message among their community.
At the gate to the mine, free condoms were openly on display but as to the uptake, we left without knowing whether this free spending community was partial to their consistent and correct use.
Online Reporter