Tag: young women

When Santa Brings Joy at Christmas, Injiva Bring Infections and Unintended Pregnancies: The Hidden HIV Threat Facing Mat South Girls

Michael Gwarisa

By Michael Gwarisa in Mat South In most parts of Matabeleland South, the festive season does not only bring tinsel and holiday cheer. It brings something far more complicated. Bottle store owners and shopkeepers prepare for football tournaments that turn their businesses into instant profit zones, while a quieter and more vulnerable anticipation grows among young girls in the villages. They know the Injiva are coming. These are men returning from South Africa or Botswana with cash in hand and the confidence to spend it. For many girls, the homecoming…

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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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