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Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
STAKEHOLDERS have called for the strengthening of HIV prevention strategies in hard hit areas such as Matabeleland North and South provinces and in key populations following revelations that commercial sex workers are 30 times more at risk of contracting the virus than the rest of the population.
Key populations are groups of people within a given population that are most at risk of contracting HIV due to the nature of their jobs or lifestyles. These include commercial sex workers, long-distance truck drivers, artisanal miners and persons affected by spousal separation due to migration, among others. National Aids Council (NAC) District Aids Coordinator for Umguza in Matabeleland North Province Mr Mongiwabesuthu Ngwenya said female sex workers were most at risk of contracting HIV and needed to be protected.
“In Umguza and even other districts, we identified several key populations which include female sex workers, men who have sex with men, and transgender people, to name a few. So in Umguza we are implementing a key population programme focusing on female sex workers. In terms of risk of acquiring HIV, they are over 30 times more at risk of acquiring the virus than the general population,” said Mr Ngwenya.
He said because of the strategies that NAC has been implementing, moving from cross-sectional strategies such as the stop the bus campaigns, they were now focused on population-based programmes and models targeting specific populations who were at risk of contracting HIV.
“Female sex workers make up these key populations. Zimbabwe has 1.3 million people who are living with HIV and now we have identified the 1.2 million, the 100 000 that we are tracing, we believe that it is a part of the few populations that are at risk which include the female sex workers. This is why we have a programme specifically for them. They are led by peer educators, we identify them and put them in a case lot where they are taught about HIV and Aids services, family planning, and biomedical HIV prevention methods like Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PreP) and condom programming,” he said.
The coordinator said condom programming was a key strategy that NAC emphasized on looking at the nature of female sex workers.
“We are saying when we have the sex workers doing their work, we need to protect them from acquiring HIV. That is why we emphasise practicing safe sex. We teach them the correct way of using both the female and male condoms to ensure there is no transmission of HIV within their circles,” said Mr Ngwenya.
In terms of HIV testing services, NAC said they were identifying those who have not been tested and encouraging them to get tested at the nearest clinic around the district. In areas that are far from testing centres, outreach programmes are conducted to reach all people and bring the services to them.
According to NAC, Bulilima District in Matabeleland South and Tsholotsho District in Matabeleland North are leading HIV infections in Zimbabwe. Matabeleland North Province has an HIV prevalence of 15.5 percent which is relatively high compared to the national prevalence of 11.1 percent while Matabeleland South stands at 21.8 percent. According to NAC, the new infections are coming largely from young people particularly adolescent girls and young women aged between 15 and 24.
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