By Kuda Pembere
URBAN folk are more susceptible to new HIV infections compared to those in the rural areas due to their high disposable income and greater mobility, a top United Nations Zimbabwe official said.
UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator His Excellency Edward Kallon said this during the World AIDS Day commemorations in Victoria Falls on Friday.
“Contrary to common belief, the greatest risk (of new HIV infection) lies with urban, educated adults in their productive and reproductive years who typically have greater mobility and disposable income.
“Reducing risky behavior by investing in behavioral science and communication for development is essential in addressing this issue,” he said.
He also bemoaned the high number of people succumbing to HIV/AIDS related illnesses.
“Your Excellency, the First Lady, and distinguished guests: allow me to share some pertinent statistics.
“According to the 2022 Zimbabwe epidemic status report, approximately 1.3 million people, accounting for 8.7% of the total population, are People living with HIV.
“Tragically, 20,000 lives have been lost to AIDS-related illnesses in the same year. The impact on women is particularly significant, as women make up 61% of the 1.2 million adults living with HIV,” the UN Zimbabwe resident coordinator said.
With the Health and Child Care Ministry on Thursday receiving a 9 percent share of the 2024 National Budget, Mr Kallon emphasized the importance of adequate health funding.
“Fourth, allocation of adequate funding and economic opportunities to communities as they connect individuals to person-centered public health services, foster trust, and hold providers accountable,” he said.
He said, “While Zimbabwe has made commendable progress in the fight against the HIV epidemic, we still face numerous challenges in achieving our goal of ending AIDS. These challenges include disparities in access to HIV services based on age, gender, and geography. Adolescent and young women are disproportionately affected by new infections, while children and key populations have limited access to services. National-scale implementation of programmes targeting adolescent girls and young women from key and vulnerable populations is yet to be achieved.”
Mr Kallon stated that the wide availability of ARVs has helped the million people living with HIV lead healthy lives.
“Notably, young people are adopting safer sexual behaviors, and AIDS-related deaths have been reduced through widespread availability of free Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) in public clinics. Thanks to access to treatment and prevention of mother-to-child transmission programmes, nearly one million HIV-positive Zimbabweans can lead long and productive lives,” he said.
Meanwhile, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) in Harare commemorated the World AIDS Day through a march and sporting activities where clients accessing HIV services at their facilities dubbed Centres of Excellence in Glen View, Mabvuku, at Sally Mugabe Central Hospital and Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals.
“We are Prince Edward High School commemorating World AIDS Day, and we are excited to be doing this in a new style. We are involving our Harare facilities such as Sally Mugabe, Mabvuku, Glen View as well as Pari.
“We have different young people that are participating in sport disciplines namely soccer, volleyball and relay athletics. We just wanted to create an opportunity for young people to lead as you are aware this year’s theme is Let communities lead. So in this we are trying to capacitate our young people to let them lead in this fight against HIV via advocacy, or pushing for issues of treatment,” said AHF Zimbabwe Prevention Manager Mr Clever Taderera.
