SYDNEY MUBAIWA
ZVISHAVANE-Despite the country meeting the United Nations’ ambitious HIV targets, Zvishavane Town is standing out as the country’s hotspot as the people dumping the life saving condom, National Aids Council (NAC) has revealed.
In an interview with The Midweek Watch NAC Midlands provincial manager, Shumba Mambewu said the culture of condom rejection in the small mining town has led to a surge in sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV and AIDS.
“According to the provincial statistics, Zvishavane town has a high prevalence of HIV transmissions. The small mining town has people who are not using condoms. They still say they don’t enjoy sex with protection, but this behaviour is exposing them to danger,” he said.
Famed for its rich gold, chrome and platinum deposits, Zvishavane has become a magnet for artisanal miners, vendors, sex workers and truckers, a volatile mix that has led to a rise in new HIV infections to an incidence rate of 0.28 percent which is the highest in the Midlands province.
While the rate has dropped from 0.39 percent recorded in 2020, the condom rejection stubborn behaviour is driving people into danger.
With more than 165,000 people living with HIV across the entire Midlands province with the HIV prevalence among the sexually active group standing at 10.5 percent, the National Aids Council warns that Zvishavane could come at a deadly cost once the stubborn behaviour of condom rejection remain uncontrolled.
