THE National Aids Council (NAC) has expressed concern over non-adherence to HIV treatment by adolescents amid fears this maybe driving new infections.
This was revealed at the Menstrual Hygiene Day Advocacy meeting convened by Plan International held at Holiday Inn Bulawayo on Tuesday.
NAC Bulawayo provincial manager, Sinatra Nyathi, said the uptake of Antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) among adolescents was worrying.
"We have already achieved the 2025 goals as a country, before the actual time,” Nyathi said.
“We are doing very well, especially for the adults.
“However, it’s a different story for our young people. We, however, have not achieved the targets with our young people on adherence to treatment.”
The 2025 targets prioritise sexual and reproductive health services for women living with HIV and women at elevated risk of HIV infection.
Nyathi said of the 80% adolescents living with HIV, 78% were on treatment.
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He emphasised the need for HIV awareness campaigns targeting the youth to reduce new infections.
“Otherwise, you worry about the rates, which they are going to add up, we are going to have a generation of people who are living with HIV, if we are not careful," Nyathi warned.
A Zimbabwe Population-based HIV Impact Assessment Survey revealed that the rate of annual new HIV infections among adults in Zimbabwe is 0,38% (0,54% among women and 0,20% among men) or approximately 31 000 persons over a year.
The prevalence of HIV among adults was 12,9%, which corresponds to approximately 1,23 million adults in Zimbabwe living with HIV in 2020.
The survey found that HIV prevalence was higher among women than men.
According to the survey 86,8% of adults living with HIV were aware of their status and of those aware of their status, 97% were on ARV.
Among those on treatment, 90,3% achieved viral load suppression.
