EVEN though the country still has high rates of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV, there has been marked improvement in terms of advancing early HIV diagnosis in infants, a new report has said.
By Fungai Masona
Presenting findings from the Gender Assessment Of The National HIV Response Draft Report during a virtual meeting on Gender Assessment of the National HIV Response, Dinys Luciano an International Consultant said even though some HIV indicators declined in 2020, infants diagnosis
In 2020, 87% of pregnant women were on antiretroviral therapy and the final vertical transmission rate including during breastfeeding was 8.70%. Early infant diagnosis improved from 55.7% in 2019 to almost 75.9% in 2020,” said Luciano.
In 2020, 79,000 children aged 0 to 14 were living with HIV, 6% the total of people living with HIV. Among the 25,000 new infections in 2020, 20.4% (5,100) were children aged 0 to 14 years old and 16% (3,500) of the total deaths due to AIDS (22,000).
In 2020, 87% of pregnant women were on antiretroviral therapy and the final vertical transmission rate including during breastfeeding 8.70%. Early infant diagnosis improved from 55.7% in 2019 to almost 75.9% in 2020. The decline in the number of pregnant women receiving ART for PMTCT in 2020 was 20% after a two-year period of stabilization in 2018 -2019.
“The number of pregnant women receiving ART for PMTCT in 2020 was 20% after a two-year period of stabilization in 2018 -2019.”
According to the Gender Assessment Of The National HIV Response Draft Report, In 2020, clinical outcomes of children who are HIV-exposed in sub-Saharan Africa remain uncertain, with differences associated with socioeconomic factors. A study comparing mortality and growth between children who were HIV-exposed and HIV-unexposed through 18 months revealed that in rural Zimbabwe, mortality remains 40% higher among children exposed to HIV, vertical transmission exceeds elimination targets, and half of children HIV-exposed uninfected are stunted.
The report also indicated that women were likely to stop taking medications owing to a myriad of factors such as societal perceptions, food insecurity amongst other factors.
“Food insecurity is associated with service utilization in the PMTCT cascade. Younger and newly diagnosed women may be more likely to drop from care, or be non-adherent, 360 days after ART initiation and less likely to attend postpartum Mother Support Groups. Unaffordability of user fees, which is sometimes compounded by unsupportive husbands who were the breadwinners.”
According to the report, in each year from 2000 to 2020, more than half of all new infections in adults (15+) were women, increasing from 55% in 2000 to 64% in 2020. Among young people (15-24), the percentage of women increased from 67% in 2000 to 76% in 2020.
