Studies on HIV prevalence in Zimbabwe have found that communities that practice polygamy tend to have lower rates of HIV infection compared to other settings, reported Health Times.
Polygamy refers to the practice of one man being married to multiple women at the same time.
In Zimbabwe, the HIV response emphasizes the importance of individuals limiting themselves to one sexual partner, as having multiple concurrent partners significantly increases the risk of HIV infection.
While numerous studies conducted across Sub-Saharan Africa have found that the practice of polygamy is associated with an increased risk of new HIV infections, some research also suggests that certain cultural practices observed within polygamous settings may play a role in regulating sexual behaviour and potentially mitigating HIV transmission in these communities.
Mashonaland West Province, for example, is a high HIV burden province in Zimbabwe with an estimated population of 1,245,000 and an estimated 143,000 people living with HIV from its seven administrative districts.
Interestingly, Kariba District, which is known for having a higher prevalence of polygamous marriages, has the lowest HIV prevalence rates in the province.
Davison Mamombe, the National AIDS Council Programs Officer for Mashonaland West Province revealed that Kariba, despite being a polygamous community, has the lowest HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) burden in the province. He said:
In terms of the highest disease burden, Mhondoro Ngezi has the highest HIV burden in the province at 14.3% followed by Chegutu at 13.7% then Zvimba, at 12.6%, Makonde at 12%, Hurungwe at 11.06% and Kariba has 9%.
Kariba becomes unique in the sense that we have people who have strong cultural roots and those people practice polygamy.
However for an outsider to penetrate their circles, it becomes a challenge so because of that, HIV prevalence in those communities is very low including sexually transmitted infections.
In Matabeleland North province, Tsholotsho District has the highest HIV prevalence at 21.9% while Binga, also a highly polygamous community has the lowest HIV prevalence at 5.3%.
In a previous interview with the Chronicle, Amon Mpofu, the National AIDS Council’s (NAC) national director of monitoring and evaluation, highlighted that the Tonga people in Binga had valuable insights to share about how their cultural practices and beliefs have contributed to a lower HIV prevalence in their community compared to other regions in the country. He said:
HIV is a sexually transmitted disease as we all know and this means Tonga values are strong and as a result, the transmission is low. They also have strong values when it comes to marriage. They avoid casual sex and value marriage, something which we should all emulate.
However, National AIDS Council Chief Executive Officer, Dr Benard Madzima said polygamy was not the factor behind the low HIV prevalence in communities where polygamy is prevalent. He said:
Maybe the protective factor is not necessarily polygamy. The prevalence might be low but to attribute it to polygamy that’s where my question is.
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