Zimbabwe: Community volunteers get bicycles from National AIDS Council

The National AIDS Council (NAC) unveiled 130 bicycles worth $ 3.7 million for volunteers in the Mashonaland Central community to help them fight HIV / AIDS and reach all hard-to-reach areas.

It comes as the government has established a leave no one and no room behind agenda as the country moves towards an upper-middle-income economy by 2030.

Mashonaland Central has approximately 1,000 community health volunteers, some of whom travel long distances to create demand for health services, raise awareness and provide communities with information to protect themselves from pandemics.

Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Senator Monica Mavhunga said the government was impressed with the return of the National AIDS Trust Fund to the community through the implementation of models of community-based and peer-led HIV prevention.

“I am told that most of the funds from the National AIDS Trust Fund are channeled into the HIV prevention campaign,” she said.

“Investments in community-based, peer-led HIV prevention interventions are now central to HIV / AIDS programs in Zimbabwe, as NAC coordinates the multisectoral approach to eliminate HIV by 2030.

“This peer-led approach is consistent with Zimbabwe’s National AIDS Strategic Plan 2021-2025, which states that health communication is most effective if it involves dialogue and problem-solving skills provided by through participatory or empowerment approaches. “

Senator Mavhunga said the peer-led approach is in line with National Development Strategy 1 which emphasizes the ability of communities to take the lead in pursuing their development desires.

She said there was a need to provide community volunteers with the tools to do their jobs properly, which will result in increased service delivery and a better quality of life for everyone in the province.

NAC Provincial Director Edgar Muzulu said he has invested $ 30 million in providing school-related grants for 2,000 learners in the province.

He said community volunteers were infantry in the response to HIV / AIDS and other pandemics like COVID-19.

“The National AIDS Trust Fund is a national funding basket initiated by the government to fund the response to HIV / AIDS,” he said.

“This gesture will ensure universal access to care and support services for HIV prevention treatment.

“A healthy community is the backbone of all development initiatives. About 95,000 people in the province are living with HIV / AIDS, 41 percent are men and 59 percent are women. About 5,000 children in the province are living with HIV.

Mash Central is number four in the country with a 13% prevalence rate. Factors behind the pandemic in the province include multiple simultaneous partners, social and religious practices that lead to vulnerability and expose young girls and women. “

Mr Muzulu said the COVID-19 pandemic has become another driver of new HIV infections as people have become laid off and have had free time to engage in risky behaviors that have fueled new HIV infections and teenage pregnancies.

“It all depends on the work of community volunteers who create demand for health services, raise awareness and provide communities with information to prevent pandemics,” he said.

More bikes will soon be made available to volunteers at Mashonaland Central.