The City of Bulawayo has denied recent media reports claiming that 90% of women aged 16 to over 50 tested for HIV in Bulawayo in June 2024 and that the city’s positivity rate among women is 71.7%.
In a statement on Thursday, August 15, Bulawayo Acting Town Clerk Edwin Mzingwane said the media took the council report out of context and sensationalised the information. Said Mzingwane:
Nationally the HIV prevalence for the 15-49 years age group is 10.49% and the HIV prevalence for Bulawayo is 11.75%.
(Prevalence refers to the proportion of old and new HIV infections per population).
(Positivity is the proportion of HIV-positive infections of the total number of people tested).
Both articles took the City of Bulawayo Council report out of context and sensationalized the information.
The data was extracted from the Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid and Camera (VIAC) Programme that targets mainly HIV-positive women as we screen for cervical cancer (women who are already on 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 6 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.
If these changes are detected early, the cells can be eliminated before they become cancerous. The cells are usually removed using a method called cryotherapy, or another method called Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure (LEEP).
The City of Bulawayo offers 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 a need to ensure accurate health reports are issued as they affect the knowledge and health beliefs of the public.
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