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Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa

Zvamaida Murwira Senior Reporter— THE improved availability of anti-retroviral drugs has spawned complacency, with some people now shunning the use of condoms, a development that could derail gains made in the nation’s HIV response, a Cabinet minister has said. Further anecdotal evidence gathered by The Herald indicates that some people with resources at their disposal shun protected sex and opt for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), which entails taking medication within 72 hours of potential contact with HIV. PEP is not generally administered by the State, but is readily available from private healthcare establishments. In the National Assembly on Thursday, Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa said while Zimbabwe was winning the war against HIV and Aids through various strategies, the new danger of complacency ought to be dealt with. He was responding to a question from Masvingo Senator Misheck Marava (MDC-T) who wanted to know if Zimbabwe was winning the HIV and Aids war. “Generally as Zimbabweans we are winning this war, but people are becoming complacent. People are now saying drugs are now there, they are no longer using condoms to protect themselves,” said Dr Parirenyatwa. He said there was need for the country to continue using all available preventive methods. “The behavioural change must be sustained and retained, including the use of condoms,” Dr Parirenyatwa said. He said the fact that the prevalence rate had hovered around 15 percent for some years now did not mean that the country was losing the fight. Zimbabwe is targeting to reduce the annual infection rate by 50 percent by 2015. According to the country’s 2012 country report, HIV incidence would be reduced by 50 percent from 48 167 adults to 24 084 by 2015. The estimated number of people living with HIV and/or Aids in Zimbabwe is around 1,2 million. The National Aids Council estimates that at least 657 000 are on anti-retroviral therapy, but this figure is expected to rise when Government effects the new WHO guidelines on ARV initiation. “The number of cases of people with HIV will not go down beyond a certain level because people are now living with HIV because of treatment. These people used to die and now they are living even though they are positive,” Dr Parirenyatwa said. “Numbers will appear as that high but what we look at now is incidence, which means what are the new cases per year, what are the new infections of HIV and that is dropping.” Dr Parirenyatwa also said his ministry had successfully lobbied to get a separate budget for cancer treatment instead of it being lumped with other non-communicable diseases like hypertention and diabetes. “The cancer drugs are expensive, that is why we are coming in as a Government to say let’s put cancer as a separate budget item in terms of chronic illnesses,” he said. However, there are indications that people are increasingly opting for PEP as an excuse to have unprotected sex. PEP involves taking anti-HIV medication within 72 hours of exposure to the virus that causes Aids to reduce the chances of infection. These medications keep HIV from replicating itself and spreading through the body. A medical doctor, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “You can get PEP at most hospitals as part of a standard protocol, but it is largely for rape and such cases. Basically, it’s expensive. “At private hospitals you can get it rather easily if you can afford to pay and it is not illegal in any way. It must be done within 72 hours and needs to be taken for 28 days. It works.” He, however, warned, against using this is a first line of defence against HIV saying condoms were still important. He also said the long-term effects of continous use of PEP were yet to be fully studied.