Tag: Umguza

An HIV Wave Hitting Only One Side of the Market: Women in Mat South Are Bearing the Brunt

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa in Mat South In Matabeleland South, the burden of new HIV infections falls almost exclusively on women. The numbers are more than statistics; they depict a crisis where mothers and daughters are diagnosed one after the other, while men’s rates lag behind. This imbalance is shrinking families, disrupting livelihoods, and leaving communities to pick up the pieces. Data from the 2022 National Housing and Population Census shows that Matabeleland South has an estimated population of 760,000 people. Of these, the National AIDS Council (NAC) estimates that 93,000…

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One Stop Centres as Key Accelerators Towards Zimbabwe’s Progress To End AIDS By 2030

Michael Gwarisa

Women and girls who experience Gender Based Violence (GBV) are at high risk of contracting HIV. According to UN Women, GBV is a risk factor for HIV infection, and a consequence of stigma. Addressing violence and gender inequality is therefore essential to ending the AIDS epidemic and protecting the human rights of all people to safety, equality and the highest attainable standard of health. By Michael Gwarisa For Roselyn Magaso* 24, from Ngangu, Chimanimani, having been married at the age of 16, she experienced all forms of abuse at the…

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UNDP Facilitates Construction of Low Cost Boarding Facilities To Reduce HIV Vulnerability In Adolescent School Girls

Michael Gwarisa

Following the death of her mother, 15 year old Grace Mwamuka* now stays with her father and two minor siblings. She is from Ndima Village in Chimanimani. Throughout the year 2022, she would walk three hours to and from school daily. By Michael Gwarisa Every morning, she would wake up as early as 4:00 AM to clean the house and prepare food for her young siblings before departing for school. After school, she would rush home to clean the house and prepare dinner. This was taking a toll on her…

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