'Distribute condoms to prisoners'

Government must make tough decisions to curb further prevalence of HIV and Aids among groups hardest hit by the disease, health stakeholders have said.

These decisions include distribution of HIV prevention options such as condoms to prison inmates and procurement of lubricated condoms for men who have sex with other men. The stakeholders argued that although the country's HIV and Aids prevalence was on the decline, the rate remained high in prison settings, commercial sex workers, long distance truck drivers and youths between the ages of 15 and 24.

Speaking after touring HIV and Aids response interventions among the key affected populations in the Midlands province recently, thematic committee on HIV and Aids chairperson, Senator Lilian Timvious, said statistics showed that there was unprotected sex taking place in prisons.

"Studies have shown that these inmates go there negative, but acquire HIV somewhere in the process," she said. "How they acquire it when they have no conjugal rights is the key issue for us as legislators.

"We cannot continue denying them access to prevention options when evidence shows that there is some sexual activity taking place amongst them."

Senator Timvious said together with other committee members, they were going to make the call for condom distribution in prisons louder until the policy was implemented. Southern Africa HIV and Aids Information Dissemination Service (SAFAIDS) training and advocacy coordinator Mr Adolf Maveneke said it was time the country made those tough decisions to effectively curb HIV infection.

Mr Maveneke said statistics on HIV prevalence in prison settings could not go unchallenged.

"The country must make those tough decisions. These are the decisions which will assist in achieving our national targets to end HIV by 2030," he said.

Midlands Provincial Aids Coordinator Mr Mambewu Shumba said other countries such as Lesotho had since began distributing condoms to prison inmates and the programme was going on well.

Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa is on record calling for action after it emerged that the HIV prevalence in the country's prisons was higher than the national prevalence.

According to United Nations AIDS Programme (UNAIDS), Zimbabwe has one of the world's highest HIV prevalence rates at 14 percent, with some 1,2 million locals living with HIV. The country's prison services say HIV prevalence among inmates now stands at 27 percent and same sex intercourse could be spiking the infections.