Bulawayo refutes 90% HIV positivity report

THE Bulawayo City Council has refuted media reports claiming that 90 percent of women aged between 16 and 50 that tested for HIV in Bulawayo in June came out positive and that there is a 71.7 percent positivity rate among women.

In a statement, acting town clerk, Dr Edwin Mzingwane said nationally the HIV prevalence for the 15-49 years age group is 10.49 percent and the HIV prevalence for Bulawayo is 11.75 percent.

He said prevalence refers to the proportion of old and new HIV infections per population while positivity is the proportion of HIV positive infections of the total number of people tested.

"The City of Bulawayo notes with concern recent articles with the headlines; Alarming statistics on HIV positive women in Bulawayo and alarming statistics in Bulawayo HIV testing. Both articles took the City of Bulawayo Council report out of context and sensationalised the information," said Dr Mzingwane.

He said the  data was extracted from the Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid and Camera (VIAC) Programme that targets mainly HIV positive women as they screen for cervical cancer (women who are already on the Antiretroviral treatment (ART) and have been confirmed as HIV Positive) with a few who are HIV negative screened as well.

"Women living with HIV are six times more likely to develop cervical cancer compared to women without HIV (WHO, 2024) and hence the VIAC programme aimed at early detection of cervical cancer.

VIAC is an effective way to prevent cervical cancer in women aged 30-50 years old. It involves examining the opening of the womb, or the cervix, for changes that might lead to cancer," said Dr Mzingwane.

He added that if the changes are detected early, the cells can be eliminated before they become cancerous and these cells are usually removed using a method called cryotherapy, or another method called Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure (LEEP).

"The City of Bulawayo offers the VIAC services targeting mainly HIV positive women whilst offering the service also to HIV negative women. Therefore, the reports cited in the above-named articles are not representative of the HIV positivity rates in general among the Bulawayo population but are skewed programmatically towards HIV positive women attending clinics for cervical cancer screening.

"The City of Bulawayo further notes the media plays a key role in disseminating health information and there is need to ensure accurate health reports are issued as they affect the knowledge and health beliefs of the public," said Dr Mzingwane.