The Sunday News
THE Ministry of Health and Child Care has embarked on an HIV testing and counselling programme targeting Matabeleland South, Matabeleland North and Bulawayo provinces — the country’s HIV hotspots.
HIV prevalence rates in the three provinces rank among the highest in the country, while the incidence in Matabeleland region is also the highest countrywide.
Prevalence rate refers to the proportion of people in a population who are living with HIV over a certain period, and incidence rate is the number of new cases per population at risk in a given period.
HIV, testing and counselling (HTC) programme co-ordinator in the Ministry of Health and Child Care Mrs Gertrude Ncube told Sunday News on Friday that the campaign was aimed at increasing the number of people who know their status countrywide.
She said the ministry was targeting to test and counsel five percent of the population in the three provinces during the two-week campaign.
“The programme aims at sensitising and creating awareness on knowledge of HIV status and that it is everyone’s right to know their status. Our targets vary per province looking at the population, but for this campaign we aim at covering five percent of the population,” she said.
The campaign programme started on Monday last week in Matabeleland South Province where outreach teams spent the week conducting HIV testing and counselling sessions. This week the programme will move to Bulawayo and Matabeleland North provinces.
Mobile testing and counselling sites have been set up in all districts in the three provinces to reach out to people who may not have access to health institutions, while various health facilities will also be offering the services.
Mrs Ncube said the campaign was taking a family centred approach, where families were being encouraged to get tested as a unit, as one of the strategies designed to enhance the uptake of HIV counselling in the country.
According to the Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey (2010-2011) an estimated 66 percent of Zimbabweans have been tested and know their HIV status, against a national target of 90 percent by 2020.
Mrs Ncube added that the campaign, which is conducted annually, this year targeted Matabeleland region because of the high prevalence and incidence rates in the region.
“This is one of our usual annual HIV testing and counselling campaigns but as you might be aware the provinces in Matabeleland region are some of the provinces with the highest HIV prevalence. Matabeleland provinces have also the highest incidence of HIV according to the hotspot mapping estimates of 2013.
“Our theme is get them tested as a family, bring your children for testing so that as a family people can know their HIV status. It helps continued prevention, treatment care and support services as well as for mutual understanding and disclosure.
“We want people to get tested as families. Though all individuals and communities are encouraged to go to the HIV testing sites,” she said.
Matabeleland South Province has the highest HIV prevalence rate of 21 percent followed by Bulawayo which has 19 percent and Matabeleland North which has 18 percent. Mashonaland East Province has a prevalence rate of 16 percent, Mashonaland West has 15 percent followed by Mashonaland Central, Manicaland, Masvingo and Midlands provinces whose prevalence rates stand at 14 percent. Harare’s prevalence rate stands at 13 percent.
2013 HIV hotspot mapping of estimated provincial incidence rates pegged Bulawayo’s at 2,46 percent, while in Matabeleland South it stands at 1,41 percent and in Matabeleland North the rate was pegged at 0,82 percent. Mashonaland Central’s incidence rate was estimated 0,84, Mash East 0,91 percent, Mashonaland West 0,54 percent, Midlands 0,88 percent, Harare 0,68 percent, Manicaland 0,87 percent and Masvingo 0,80 percent.
The national average is estimated at 0,93 percent.
Mrs Ncube said: “HIV testing and counselling is the entry point to all HIV prevention, treatment and care. Therefore for individuals to access these services we need to identify them early through HIV testing and counselling.
“We conduct these campaigns on an annual basis depending on funding and as I said the main reason is to increase access and uptake of HTC services and get a lot of people knowing their HIV status early.
“Studies have shown that if you are diagnosed early and commenced on treatment the treatment outcomes are always good rather than if you are diagnosed late”.
The ongoing HIV testing and counselling campaign is in line with the global HIV targets of the 90.90.90 approach by 2020.
According to the global HIV targets 90 percent of the world’s population should know their status by 2020, while 90 percent of all people who test positive will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy by the same year and 90 percent of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression by 2020.
