Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Advocate Misheck Mugadza (right) launches the World AIDS campaign 2024-2025 theme and logo in Rusape on Friday, whilst Mitchell Mutimbanyoka looks on
BY MUNYARADZI BLESSING DOMA IN RUSAPE
Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Advocate Misheck Mugadza has urged collaborative efforts to tackle pediatric HIV, which remains a significant challenge in the country.
While Zimbabwe has made commendable progress in managing HIV among the adult population, statistics show that children living with the virus are still being left behind.
Pediatric HIV is defined as HIV in children and adolescents.
Minister Mugadza revealed this on Friday in Rusape, during the launch of the World AIDS Day (WAD) 2024-2025 theme and logo.
This year’s WAD commemorations will be held on Sunday at John Cowie Primary School in Rusape.
And the WAD 2024-2025 international theme is “Take the Rights Path” while the country’s national theme is, “Take The Rights Path, My Health, My Rights Our Responsibility”.
Minister Mugadza emphasized on the need to prioritise health services for all, especially children.
“It’s the duty of every individual to access health services and everyone’s responsibility to ensure that there is an enabling environment for people to access health services.
“As a country we are having challenges with pediatric HIV, so it is our duty ladies and gentlemen that we put the rights of our children first and responsibility to access health services for our children.”
He also spoke on the need to ensure inclusivity so the goal to end AIDS by 2030 is achieved.
“Ending AIDS requires that we reach and engage everyone who is living with and at the risk of getting infected with HIV.
“That probably speaks about all of us here today and away.
“The theme highlights the importance of human rights in ending AIDS, promoting inclusion and eradicating stigma. It calls on policy makers and citizens to address the inequalities that hinder progress in ending AIDS.”
Speaking during a separate interview in Marange in Mafararikwa Village during the same media tour, National AIDS Council (NAC) District AIDS Coordinator for Mutare Rural, Kim Mubaiwa shared similar sentiments of how children remain the most affected amongst people living with HIV.
She said of the 30 000 people living with HIV in the district, it was quite troubling that majority are children.
“We have a total of 306 000 people, majority being females and looking at HIV prevalence, we are at 8,18 percent and in terms of incidence, we are at 0,12 percent.
“We have 36 rural wards and also 42 health facilities.
“And looking at the HIV epidemiology, we have a total number of 30 000 people living with HIV and this is inclusive of Mutare Urban and Mutare Rural.
“Our main challenge is now when we look in terms of ART (anti-retroviral treatment) initiation as pediatric ART, we are looking at 61 percent.
“So in terms of pediatric art, we have just been having challenges with mothers, issues of late booking, PMTCT (Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission) causal factor, so those are some of the contributing factors but as a district, we have initiatives that we are implementing,” said Mubayiwa.
She added that they had since engaged partners who are implementing a PMTCT programme and they also have a Ministry of Health and Child Care programme which also seeks to address challenges to do with pediatric HIV.
“We also have a programme with the Ministry of Health and Child Care where we are saying if a mother registers for ANC (antenatal care), they are tested and there is viral load tracking and there is support throughout the pregnancy,” added Mubayiwa.
Speaking at a recent NAC HIV Research Symposium, Ministry of Health and Child Care National PMTCT and Pediatric HIV Care and Treatment Coordinator, Dr Angela Mushavi, said statistics reveal that of the 1,3 million people living with HIV, 69 000 to 70 000 are children, adding that while ART coverage for adults was at 96,3 percent in 2023, for children it was sitting at 63 percent.
