Moffat Mungazi
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
A COMPREHENSIVE HIV intervention programme targeting traditional and community leaders in the fight against all forms of sexual abuse of adolescent girls and young women — dubbed the NotInMyVillage campaign — has been launched in Manicaland, and being piloted in Mutare and Chipinge districts.
Speaking during the official launch of the programme in last Friday, National Aids Council (NAC) provincial manager, Mr Artwell Shiridzinomwa said there is a close link between new HIV infections and abuse of the girl child.
“This is a campaign which was first launched in Mashonaland Central. We want to engage our local leaders so that they pioneer the fight against child marriages. There is a close link between new HIV infections and abuse of the girl child. It is something of great importance to us that we engage the powers that be so that they play their role in the fight against child marriages.
“Two districts in Manicaland are piloting the initiative — that is Mutare and Chipinge. It is also important to note that we will not end there. As NAC, we will take up the campaign to all the districts in the province,” said Mr Shiridzinomwa, adding that the campaign deliberately targets males given their roles in homes and communities.
“We all understand the social dynamics of our society. Men call the shots, they are the husbands, the boyfriends, and so on. Therefore, in our efforts to protect the girl child, we are engaging and involving men so that they take the responsibility to ensure that the girl child is safe,” he said.
Young People’s Network for Health and Wellness national facilitator, Mr Dumisani Ngwenya said they have learnt lessons where the initiative was first launched, and are convinced that the people of Manicaland can benefit from it in the fight against sexual abuse of adolescent girls and young women.
“This is a campaign that was firstly launched in Mashonaland Central. What we have done is to engage local leaders so that they pioneer the fight against child marriages.
“We have lessons that we learnt where this initiative was first launched that we think can benefit the people of Manicaland also. We noted that in Mashonaland Central, where this programme was first launched, traditional leaders made a deliberate attempt to make sure the Zunde RaMambo project is realigned to help the child headed families to reduce chances of them being sexually abused.
“There are also a number of Government programmes that have more to with community empowerment that traditional leaders in Mashonaland Central made a declaration to prioritise young women and adolescent girls so that they are not vulnerable to sexual abuse.
“Therefore, this is what we are also hoping to replicate here in Manicaland in a bid to protect the girl child because there is a close link between the sexual abuse of adolescent girls and young women to their inability to fend for themselves,” he said.
Speaking during the same function, NAC provincial monitoring and evaluation officer, Mr Sibert Hlatywayo said Mutare and Chipinge recorded the highest numbers of teenage pregnancies in 2023 and 2024, hence the deliberate move to start the campaign in the two districts.
“The reason we are focusing on Mutare and Chipinge as regards the NotInMy Village campaign is because we have certain factors driving HIV in these two districts that need to be addressed. In fact, compared to other districts in the province, the two have highest teenage pregnancies. Cultural and religious practices in Chipinge and Mutare Rural that see girls getting into marriages early are fuelling this trend,” he said.
Online Reporter