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Paidamoyo Chipunza Features Correspondent

Zimbabwe’s HIV incidence and prevalence rate has been generally going down, sadly it remains high among adolescents and young people, threatening national efforts to end Aids by 2030.According to the Ministry of Health and Child Care 2013 national HIV and Aids estimates, about 5,31 percent of adolescents and young people between the ages of 15 and 24 years were HIV positive.

In 2014, the UNAIDS Gap Report estimated the HIV prevalence rate among the same group to be around 4, 1 percent.

While Zimbabwe has made great strides in elimination of mother-to-child transmission (EMTCT) there are still infants born to HIV positive mothers getting infected with the virus.

According to the 2014 UNAIDS Gap Report, an estimated 9 000 infants acquired HIV from their mothers in 2013 alone.

“The tap on new HIV infections is still leaking. It must be closed to achieve the country’s targets of having an Aids free generation,” said national Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) and pediatric HIV care and treatment coordinator in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Dr Angela Mushavi.

Dr Mushavi said to ensure that newly born babies start their lives free from HIV infection, stay free from infection throughout their lives and should they acquire it, they must not progress to Aids, Government has embraced the new global agenda known as the Be Free Framework, which entails intensification of PMTCT, HIV prevention and treatment programmes.

“Start free refers to children who are born HIV free and when we say stay free, we want those children to remain HIV negative throughout their adolescents to adulthood. However we recognise that in some cases children can become HIV positive, we therefore want them to be Aids free by getting on treatment early,” said Dr Mushavi.

Dr Mushavi said the Be Free framework was instrumental in driving the 2030 agenda of ending Aids as it guarantee HIV prevention among children, adolescents and young people and also ensures that those who are HIV positive are on treatment.

“We have very ambitious targets that are aligned to ending Aids by 2030 and for us to meet them, we need to address all the gaps remaining in HIV response.

“These gaps include areas where we are still recording new infections such as children born to HIV positive mothers and young people,” said Dr Mushavi.

Zimbabwe’s target on PMTCT is to reduce the number of children who acquire HIV infection from their mothers to less than five percent. Recent statistics from the Ministry of Health and Child Care showed that the country’s PMTCT rate currently stands at seven percent.

Commenting on HIV infection among adolescents and young people, Mutasa district officer for behaviour change for Integrated Support Programmes with FACT Mutare, Mr Exactly Magada said girls were more vulnerable compared to boys.

In a recent interview on the sidelines of a National Aids Council organised media tour of FACT’s sister-to-sister girls club at Mwoyoweshumba secondary School in Mutasa, Mr Magada said in 2015 alone, 128 girls dropped from school in the district against two boys, with majority of the girls eloping.

He said after studying this trend, FACT Mutare embarked on the girls club targeting young girls between 10 and 24 years in and out of school.

He said they also identified voluntary mentors in communities where the children live to assist with educating the girls on their sexual and reproductive health.

Mr Magada however said these clubs need to be linked with life skills to ensure that the girls are economically equipped.

“What we have noted is that some girls drop from school in search of employment or they go to get married as they flee poverty from their families but posing them at risk of contracting HIV at a tender age,” he said.

He said programmes such as the sister-to-sister girls club therefore goes a long way in encouraging adolescents and young people to stay free of HIV.

Fifteen year old Miss Emma Mvumbunu, who is a member of the Mwoyoweshumba Secondary School girls club commended the programme saying it equipped them with knowledge on real life situations.

“Some girls fall into the pit because they lack information but through this programme I have learnt that information is power. At least now I can make an informed choice about my life,” she said.

Miss Mvumbunu said their learning manual comprise of 40 topics divided into five thematic areas namely building the club culture, self-awareness, sexual awareness, financial awareness and social awareness.

She said to complete the course, once should undergo all the 40 topics.

“It is an exciting programme because it offers real life scenarios and how to mitigate them if you encounter them in your life. Some of these lessons you can never get them at home or in class hence the importance of these programmes,” she said.

To end new HIV infections in young people, Miss Anna Sango from the African Young Positives Network said there was need by Government and its partners to create demand for HIV services and take the services to where the young people are.

“Our main challenge as young people is access to information. We also need to access the services without fear of being judged and discriminated by our older health workers who man health institutions,” said Miss Sango.

She said partners working in HIV response must then create demand for HIV testing and counselling services among young people by providing them with necessary information through clubs such as the Mwoyoweshumba sister-to-sister girls club.

Miss Sango said there was also need to address issues of early child marriages, forced marriages and child sexual abuse to effectively combat HIV among youths.

According to the latest Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey, about 31 percent of girls marry before the age of 18 years and four percent marry before they reach 15 years, posing them to risk of HIV acquisition.

“Let us bring the services to the young people, the information, the mobile clinics and the treatment and also emphasise on sexual and reproductive health because without that we will not be able to end new infections among young people,” she said.

In line with the 2030 global targets, the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Girl Effect, Johnson & Johnson, Gilead Sciences, and ViiV Healthcare has embarked on an ambitious US$385 million programme to reduce HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women in 10 sub-Saharan African countries.

The goal of the programme is to help girls develop into Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe women (DREAMS).

Girls and young women account for 71 percent of new HIV infections among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa.