THE majority of people living with HIV and Aids in Zimbabwe are in unions, a recent report compiled by stakeholders involved in HIV and Aids work has said. The report, which is the first of its kind to be conducted in the country, is meant to update Zimbabwe's evidence base for the formulation of the Zimbabwe National Aids Strategic Plan (ZNASP) 2011-2015, and to look back and learn from what has been achieved.
According to the report, about three-quarters of HIV positive males and over half of HIV positive females are in unions.
Forty-seven percent of the couples are sero-discordant, representing an important opportunity for prevention in couples, says the report.
It further says Zimbabwe has high rates of marriage compared to other countries in Southern Africa.
"People marry comparatively early, and this shortens the overall the period of pre-marital sex," it says.
According to the report, Zimbabwe's HIV prevalence is similar across provinces.
In terms of age and gender, younger females are at the highest risk of HIV.
However, in contrast to the early years of the HIV epidemic, the more educated one is the less likely they are to acquire HIV, meaning education have had a positive effect on HIV risk mitigation. People with a history of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are also at a higher risk of acquiring HIV.
Although there has been a decline of STI cases at public health facilities, there are recent reports of STI increases in certain groups like youths in Harare and mine workers in Mhondoro.
In Zimbabwe, there is a scarcity of HIV prevalence data of the traditional most-at-risk populations like sex workers, men having sex with men, and injecting drug users.
The report further says although there is a large number of policy instruments related to HIV prevention at national and sectoral level, barriers do exist.
These barriers include illegal status of sex work, prohibition of condom promotion in schools and policies which are not effectively implemented.
Some of these policies include the 2007 Prevention, Control and PEP Policy, the 2007 Domestic Violence Act, the Sexual Offences Act, among others.
According to the report, priority HIV prevention interventions for implementation in Zimbabwe should be male circumcision, prevention of mother to child transmissions (PMTCT), earlier administration of anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs), condom promotion and distribution, couples HIV counselling and testing and a comprehensive HIV prevention programme for sex workers.
These objectives are in line with Zimbabwe's new HIV strategy and the Global Fund to Fight HIV Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) round 10 proposed HIV prevention activities.
"Given the country's success in reducing HIV already and the fact that there is consensus in Zimbabwe on what to do to arrest HIV, the next wave of focus in HIV prevention in Zimbabwe needs to focus on allocating more dedicated HIV resources for priority interventions," reads part of the report.
In his foreword to the report, Health and Child Welfare Minister Dr Henry Madzorera said the analysis lays an important foundation for understanding the epidemic in the country.
"While significant strides have been made in reversing the trends in the HIV epidemic, it is evident that without critical information most of these gains remain scantily understood," he said.
Dr Madzorera said with this effort the country aim to establish a source of comprehensive and critical data to help highlight and explain the nuances in the epidemic.
"In this light, the report highlights the challenges the country faces with regards to availability of good quality data and related information to inform the fight against the HIV scourge," Dr Madzorera said.
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201202080747.html
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