'Prostitution high in Mashonaland East'

The National Aids Council (NAC) in Mashonaland East says prostitution is still high in the province with the Harare-Nyamapanda highway being the worst affected by the social vice.

NAC Mashonaland East provincial coordinator Dr Wilfred Dube says commercial sex work is still rife in the province with the activities mainly concentrated along the Harare-Nyamapanda highway.

Dr Dube told ZBC News in an interview at a breakfast meeting with provincial stakeholders in Macheke that the recent Constitutional Court ruling against arbitrary arrest of commercial sex workers will make it easy to identify them and encourage them to seek medial services as they will not be afraid of legal repercussions.

Mr Walter Chikanya from the Zimbabwe Community Health Intervention Research Project says they have introduced a number of programmes to engage commercial sex workers so that they know the importance of behaviour change.

According to Sisters With A Voice, a local non-governmental organisation dealing with health education for commercial sex workers, a total of 493 commercial sex workers visited its sites at Juru, Marondera, Murewa, Mutoko and Nyamapanda this year alone.

165 were attended to at Nyamapanda followed by 122 at Juru Growth Point with the second highest figure.

In 2014, the sites attended to 1 533 commercial sex workers with Nyamapanda topping the list.