By Conrad Mwanawashe
HIV and AIDS remain significant public health challenges, with new HIV cases continuing to be high among specific vulnerable populations such as adolescent girls and young women and sex workers, and treatment coverage remains lower among children and there is therefore no room for complacency, according to Health & Child Care Minister, Dr Douglas Mombeshora.
Addressing journalists at a National AIDS Council Workshop recently, Dr Mombeshora said while Zimbabwe has made significant strides in the fight against HIV and AIDS, including a remarkable decline in new infections and AIDS-related deaths and expansion of access to life-saving antiretroviral therapy, achieving the 95-95-95 targets set forth by the global community, “we cannot afford to be complacent”.
“HIV has proved to be more than just a biomedical threat, and comes enveloped within a social package. We therefore have to address the disease alongside the various social vulnerabilities that entrap our people.
“The strong association between HIV and TB as well as some non-communicable diseases requires that we integrate the response and deploy multi-pronged efforts to jointly tackle the diseases. The recent commemorations of the World TB and World Cancer Days amply demonstrated the association between these diseases and HIV as the commemorations were integrated,” said Dr Mombeshora.
Minister Mombeshora also allayed fears of any shortage of anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) because government has ensured that there is enough stock of life-saving drugs to last until September.
“We have made available US$12 million to import more drugs
and this means the additional stock of drugs will now take us up
to the end of September so there is no need to panic.
And as we proceed, we will keep on putting more stock.
We purchase these drugs in batches so that we don’t run out,” said Dr Mombeshora.
His statement cleared fears a shortage of ARVs following US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal of aid earmarked for critical areas such as the fight against HIV and Aids among other pandemics.
“You are probably all now familiar with the recent abrupt cut in funding by the Government of the United States of America and its potential implications for the response to HIV and related diseases in our country. As government we have already begun to put strategies in place to ensure that our people are not vulnerable.
“The wisdom of government in establishing the National AIDS Trust Fund (commonly known as the AIDS Levy) has now been amply demonstrated by the need to have sustainable domestic funding mechanisms in cases of donor withdrawal. In addition to the levy, government is working on various long-term initiatives, which include the National Health Insurance and others,” Dr Mombeshora added.
Government is also considering other avenues to finance critical drugs imports to avoid a run out.
“We purchase in batches so that we don’t run out. We have reprioritized, we have sat down with the National AIDS Council to see how much money we are putting for the medicines, so that we come in with some money coming from the Minister of Health, some from National AIDS Council, and we realize that we can cover the drugs for HIV, for TB, and for malaria.
“These are the three programs that were mainly supported by funders. But at the same time, I will say, it’s not 55%. Our calculations say that it’s 36%. Therefore, we only need to have 36% to cover that. At the moment, after reprioritizing and changing our needs that we met in 2024, we’ve reprioritized to make sure we prioritize provision of these drugs. Because if we have people stopping medications for HIV, like what was presented here, we certainly have those serious consequences, and people start dying,” said Dr Mombershora.
He called on journalists in addition to raising awareness about HIV and related morbidities and bringing light the realities of living with HIV, to also challenge negative stereotypes and create a more supportive environment for people living with HIV through sensitive reporting.
“Your role is also crucial in encouraging individuals to get tested, know their status, and access the available treatment and care services. Your reporting is also critical in scrutinizing policies, programmes, and resource allocation, ensuring transparency and accountability in our national response. Above all, you are very instrumental in providing a platform for people living with HIV, their families, and advocates to share their experiences and perspectives, ensuring their voices are heard and their needs are addressed,” said Dr Mombeshora.
