adminMidlands Correspondent
PARLIAMENT and the National AIDS Council (NAC) have launched a vigorous anti-HIV and AIDS campaign in tertiary institutions in the wake of an increase in cases of new HIV infections among students. In an interview in Kwekwe, NAC director of communications, Ms Medeline Dube, said an upsurge in the rate of new HIV infections among young people most of whom are in universities has become a cause for concern.
Ms Dube said NAC and parliamentarians will soon visit tertiary institutions and conscientise students on the dangers of reckless sexual behaviour as one of the interventions.
“It is a cause for concern that young people in the tertiary institutions are now being exposed to HIV. There is really a great concern. One of the major challenges that we are seeing is that universities, and other tertiary institutions are expanding without proper due care in terms of health facilities and accommodation therefore exposing the young people.
“It becomes a serious challenge when you set up a college or university in communities where you can not provide accommodation for the students and proper health facilities. The National AIDS Council (NAC) and the parliamentarians will visit various tertiary institutions so that we get to understand and engage them as well as enlighten the students,” she said.
Ms Dube said farming and artisanal mining communities were also becoming more problematic when it comes to accessing proper health facilities as well as understanding the risks of multiple sexual partnerships.
“In the mining communities, a lot of people are not committed to their sexual partners. It is easy for people to change partners,” she said.
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