NAC Manager for Midlands Province, Mambewu Shumba addresses the media
BY MUNYARADZI BLESSING DOMA in KWEKWE
Whilst the country has achieved the 95-95-95 UNAIDS targets to end AIDS by 2030, Midlands Province is still lagging behind, with children being the most affected at 73 percent.
Chief amongst the reasons for this low performance in children, is their failure to access health services.
This was revealed by the National AIDS Council (NAC) Manager for Midlands Province, Mambewu Shumba, when he gave his province’s overview to journalists who are on a NAC media tour.
These UNAIDS targets seek to ensure that 95 percent of people living with HIV should know their status, 95 percent of those diagnosed with HIV should be on antiretroviral therapy and 95 percent of those on antiretroviral therapy should achieve viral suppression.
Shumba revealed that with an estimated population of 1,8 million, the Midlands Province has about 165 019 people living with HIV as the 0-14 age group stands at 7 119, while the adults are about 157 900 according to the 2024 estimates.
“In terms of our ART (antiretroviral therapy) coverage the 95-95-95 targets, we are not doing well, particularly on the children.
“In the Midlands Province for the children, we are at 73 percent, but we are supposed to get to 95 and for the age group 15-49, that’s both sexes, we are at 89 percent, again we haven’t reached the mark for 95 although the country has performed well across the other age group, less the children,” said Shumba.
He added that low performance in children has been attributed to failure by mothers to have their children access enough services.
Shumba however added that as a province they are not resting on their resting on their laurels, as they are looking at ways to improve children’s access to health services.
“Low performance for children is being caused by the fact that we are not getting numbers in terms of children, this has been scientifically proven because we conducted a study within our province.
“We have seen that children really are not accessing enough services, hence we have agreed as a province, as National AIDS Council, with the Ministry of Health and partners, that we need to have a campaign, giving massive information, starting from all sites, entry points, that’s the OPD (Outpatient Department) area where people access services, the OI (Opportunistic Infections) outreaches for people in the community, providing information, where they get all services, an integrated outreach.
“Issues to do with family planning, issues to do with PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis), mobilization for kids to be registered.
“We also have a programme for mothers for early registration, to make sure we give them information that they have to book all pregnancies.
“It’s all across that we have to be campaigning, mobilizing for the children, equally through the Sista2Sista, it equally has a component of mobilization for children to be registered,” added Shumba.
He also revealed that as a province, they agreed that all nurses should make sure that all mothers who come through a facility, are encouraged to access all health services for their children.
“When you go to the clinic being sick or your child is sick, you are offered health services, you are not forced, they give you information, total information some sort of counselling and anticipate that you will accept the offer.
“We have also established structures at community levels, for the purposes of educating the community, on the four pillars, NCDs (non-communicable diseases), issues to do with drug and substance abuse, issues to do with male engagement and disaster preparedness, that’s on top of the HIV aspect, that’s where it starts, mobilizing the community to access services.”
Shumba further revealed that administratively, Midlands Province has eight districts, but when it comes to the national response to HIV and AIDS, there are 10 districts, as Kwekwe and Gweru are divided into two, urban and rural, by virtue of disease burden and manageability in terms of coordination.
The province has 275 health facilities and amongst them are eight district hospitals and the Gweru Provincial Hospital and the Kwekwe General Hospital.
