Online Reporter
Prosper Ndlovu in Nkayi
The National AIDS Council (NAC) in Matabeleland North Province has intensified efforts to curb new HIV infections and improve health outcomes by integrating drug and substance abuse prevention, mental health support, and non-communicable disease (NCD) services into its HIV response.
The comprehensive approach comes as Zimbabwe works towards achieving national and global targets to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
Matabeleland North province has an HIV prevalence rate of 11.4 percent and an incidence rate of 0.13 percent, while Nkayi District is on the higher end with a prevalence rate of 12.5 percent and incidence rate of 0.15 percent among the 15 to 49 year old age groups, indicating the continued occurrence of new infections in the district.
Speaking in Zenka area on Wednesday on the province’s response strategy, NAC Provincial Manager, Mr Dingani Ncube said the evolving nature of health challenges affecting communities requires a more integrated and people-centred approach to HIV programming.
“We’ve integrated drug and substance abuse in the province. We realise that there is a strong linkage between new HIV transmission as well as drug and substance abuse,” said Mr Ncube.
“We’ve seen that most young men and young girls nowadays are indulging in drugs. And this is why we’ve trained our community volunteers, who are across all villages and wards in the province.
“They’ve been trained, they’ve been equipped to deliver sessions, integrating them into our HIV programming.”
The province has identified low risk perception among adolescents and young people, low condom use, and spousal separation in some districts as key drivers of HIV transmission. However, emerging challenges such as increasing drug and substance abuse among young people are now adding a new dimension to the epidemic.
According to NAC, drug and substance abuse is contributing to risky sexual behaviour, poor decision-making and reduced adherence to HIV prevention measures.
For this reason, community volunteers across villages and wards have been trained to deliver integrated HIV and drug awareness sessions aimed at reducing both substance abuse and HIV vulnerability.
Mr Ncube described HIV and drug abuse as “inseparable cousins”, noting that intoxication often weakens an individual’s ability to make informed decisions, thereby increasing exposure to HIV infection and other social risks.
The integration model is also responding to a growing burden of mental health challenges, particularly among adolescent boys and young men.
Health experts have increasingly linked mental health disorders, substance abuse and poor health-seeking behaviour, factors that can undermine HIV prevention and treatment efforts.
To address this, NAC has equipped community carers and volunteers with skills to identify mental health concerns early and refer affected individuals to health facilities for specialised care.
Beyond prevention, the integrated approach is helping safeguard gains made in HIV treatment.
With more people living with HIV now enjoying longer and healthier lives due to access to antiretroviral therapy, non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes have emerged as major health concerns.
In response, NAC has incorporated screening for blood pressure, diabetes and other chronic conditions into community HIV programmes.
The intervention seeks to ensure that people living with HIV remain healthy and productive while reducing preventable deaths associated with non-communicable diseases.
“We’ve also seen that our people living with HIV are now living much longer and healthier lives. But unfortunately, we are losing some of them because of non-communicable diseases,” said Mr Ncube.
“Again, we have, as an organisation, integrated this into our HIV programming to make sure that we have basic screening for diabetes.
“We’ve also integrated the issue of high blood pressure, as well as making sure that our communities are healthy, they are living nutritious lives and productive lives.”
The province is also placing strong emphasis on reducing stigma and discrimination, particularly among adolescents living with HIV.
Stigma remains one of the key barriers to treatment adherence and retention in care, especially among young people navigating social pressures and transition into adulthood.
At community level, NAC is strengthening male engagement programmes to increase uptake of HIV services among men, a population group often left behind in health interventions.
The initiative is being implemented alongside the “Not In My Village” campaign, led by traditional leaders, village heads and chiefs who are helping mobilise communities against HIV, gender-based violence, stigma and substance abuse.
Behaviour Change Community Mobilisers are conducting targeted group discussions and household visits to reach vulnerable individuals and encourage positive health-seeking behaviour.
The integrated strategy reflects Zimbabwe’s broader commitment to achieving the national goal of ending AIDS by 2030 through a multi-sectoral response that addresses the social, behavioural and health factors driving the epidemic.
By tackling HIV alongside mental health, substance abuse and non-communicable diseases, NAC believes communities will be better equipped to prevent new infections, remain on treatment and lead healthier, more productive lives.
As the country advances towards the 2030 target, Matabeleland North’s integrated model is increasingly being viewed as a critical approach for sustaining gains in the HIV response while addressing emerging public health challenges that threaten to reverse progress.
