Today marks the end of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. This years’ campaign ran under the theme; “Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!”. Violence in all its forms is one of the structural drivers that increases the risk of HIV infection particularly for adolescent girls and young women (AGYW). AGYW and Key Populations living with HIV are not spared from violence.

COVID-19 has made it very apparent that there is need for bold action to stem the growing tide of gender-based violence cases. Quarantines and social isolation have negatively influenced mental health, increasing the risk of problematic coping behaviors including family violence and conflict. The pandemic has exacerbated key risk factors for Violence Against Women and Girls, such as food shortages, unemployment, economic insecurity, school closures, massive migration flows and the threat of civil unrest. This has resulted in an alarming increase of multiple forms of violence against women and girls, especially physical, psychological, sexual and economic forms of domestic violence fueled by household economic and confined living conditions due to lockdown and social isolation measures. School closures, financial and food insecurity have heightened the risk of violence for girls including sexual exploitation, harassment, and child marriages.

The increase in cases reminds us that there is still more to be done to effectively eradicate all forms of gendered violence. It is a call to for people living with HIV (PLHIV) in their diversity to act, redouble efforts and make their voices count. For an effective response to be mounted, PLHIV join the call for increased funding for proven strategies to prevent gender-based violence. These include social protection programs that guarantee access to food, water and education for vulnerable groups particularly AGYW and Key Populations including LGBTI and sex workers.

In an effort to adapt and provide support to PLHIV, the Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV (ZNNP+) and Zimbabwe Young Positives (ZY+) has developed early warning systems and integrated COVID 19 response plans with advocacy for elimination of Gender-based violence. Some of the best practices adopted include virtual safe spaces with discussions on GBV, referral systems for GBV victims, psycho- social support sessions and a call centre for people living with HIV and their communities known as Kutabila Platform. The platform offers HIV prevention and treatment, SRH, psycho-social support, key population and youth friendly services and impact mitigation of COVID 19 and HIV.

The Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV (ZNNP+) and Zimbabwe Young Positives (ZY+) join the rest of the world in commemorating the 2020 International World AIDS Day running under the theme “Global Solidarity, Shared Responsibility”. As people living with HIV, we are in solidarity with the rest of the world in fighting the global health threat posed by COVID-19. We equally share the responsibility to act and effectively deal with this health emergency which has impacted on every aspect of society.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold, it has become apparent that there is need to introspect and take definitive action to ensure that the gains made in the global and national response to HIV are not lost. COVID-19 has taught us that now more than any time there is need to double our efforts to ensure that we reach epidemic control and guarantee quality HIV prevention, treatment and care services for people living with HIV in Zimbabwe. We can only achieve our desired 95, 95, 95 targets if we address the structural and social barriers that militate against people living with HIV accessing HIV testing, treatment and diagnostic services. We call upon all stakeholders including the government, donors, policy makers, civil society organizations, community based organizations, religious and traditional leaders and communities to work together to address the existing barriers. Some of the barriers include user fees, punitive policies such as section 79 of the Criminal Code and Codification Act which criminalizes HIV transmission, stigma and discrimination, avoidable ART drug shortages and stock-outs, sexual and gender based violence and harmful religious and cultural practices.

To effectively end the epidemic, we need to focus on cost effective solutions which include the full roll- out of differentiated models of care including multi-month dispensing of ART for a minimum of six month for stable clients, increased viral load coverage, localization of the production of anti-retroviral medicines and diagnostic equipment including point of care machines and the repealing of punitive and retrogressive laws and policies.

As COVID-19 continues to take its toll, we urge all people living with HIV to remain vigilant and continue to comply with the all set regulations on containing the virus.

The Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV (ZNNP+) on 1st July 2020 launched the People Living with HIV (PLHIV) virtual platform call centre called Kutabila, covering Zimbabwe’s ten provinces plus a dedicated line for Youth and Key Populations. The call centre was made possible with financial and technical support from the UNAIDS and National AIDS Council of Zimbabwe. A virtual platform provides a trusted connection between the umbrella network and recipients of care. It is a PLHIV-led response to the emergency brought about by COVID-19 and lessons learnt from previous disasters and emergencies such as the Chingwizi and Idai floods that severely affected PLHIV’s access to health services.

The virtual platform is a communication, surveillance, and data collection system aimed at improving PLHIV engagement, informing service providers and fostering positive change in the HIV response. The platform can send alerts to PLHIV, collect real-time responses and subsequently publish gathered data. The platform will gather important health analytics to gain insight into client satisfaction, visibility of implementing partners, trends and patterns of HIV-related support and issues such as multi-month dispensing of antiretroviral medicines, access to viral load testing, opportunities and access to HIV prevention and management. Organizations in the HIV response can ride-on this platform and track their specific program indicators.

IIn its first month, the busy platform has been influential in addressing the first and second delays in seeking care as it connected vulnerable groups of PLHIV to health facilities at no cost. It has shown immense potential towards improving health worker and community relations, relaying timely health advice, ensuring prompt response to emergencies and facilitation of timely referrals.

Greetings Everyone,

Welcome to the third edition of Rararamo ineTariro nePEPFAR, the PEPFAR Zimbabwe e-newsletter. The last six months have been trying and exhausting for everyone working in the health sector – almost no one has been spared the effects of the fast-spreading COVID-19 disease. Predictably, many of our PEPFAR-supported programs in Zimbabwe have taken a hit. Still, PEPFAR’s quarter three results (April-June) show remarkable increases in HIV treatment linkage and retention, as well as record-high viral load coverage and suppression. We would like to dedicate this issue of the newsletter to our implementing partners who have found the tenacity to protect gains made in the response to HIV. Their efforts are nothing short of heroic.

Quarter three was also the first time the PEPFAR program has collected and reported the national treatment current (TX_CURR) figure for Zimbabwe. A total of 1,149,354 adults and children are currently receiving ART, representing 85% coverage of the total population living with HIV. This remarkable reporting achievement allows for more robust monitoring of the progress made towards epidemic control.

In this issue, we also hear from civil society in a special recurring feature called “Community Corner.” We learn that the Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV (ZNNP+) has launched a call center for PLHIV called Kutabila covering Zimbabwe’s ten provinces plus a dedicated line for Youth and Key Populations. The call center is proving to be effective in relaying timely health advice, ensuring prompt response to emergencies, and facilitating timely referrals.

Finally, we are happy to welcome two new members of the USG team in Harare: Dr. Michael Melchior is the new Country Director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC Zimbabwe), and Mr. Art Brown is the new USAID Mission Director.

As always, thank you for your contributions and continued support of this newsletter. If you have contributions for future editions please submit them to our Communications Specialist, Gay Nyakwende ([email protected]).

Remember to wear masks, practice social distancing, and stay safe. Remember to wear masks, practice social distancing, and stay safe.

Best Wishes,

Kristine F. Clark
PEPFAR Country Coordinator

Zimbabwe National Network of People living with HIV (ZNNP+) and Zimbabwe Young Positives (ZY+) join the rest of the world in commemorating The International AIDS Candlelight Memorial running under the theme “We remember – We take action – We live beyond HIV”. As the world deals with the coronavirus pandemic we must support our families and communities to stay healthy. People living with HIV have a role to play beyond the HIV response and this year’s memorial is an opportunity for all PLHIV to act in solidarity with the world as we deal with COVID-19 and its impact on all spheres of our lives.

This year we encourage you to mark this day in your homes. Join the virtual Candlelight Memorial by holding a vigil from your home. Light a candle or use your mobile phone flashlight.

• #candlelightmemorial2020
• #weremember
• #wetakeaction
• #welivebeyondHIV

For more information contact

Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV (ZNNP+)
Tel: +263 774151276;
Facebook: Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV;
Twitter: @znnpinfo;
Email: [email protected];
Website: www.znnp.org;
Press Contact: +263 (0) 776 906 943 (T. Mwareka)

COVID-19 is a severe public health emergency for all citizens and societies with infections. It is also a major health and socio-economic shock to People Living with HIV (PLHIV).

The Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV (ZNNP+) and Zimbabwe Young Positives (ZY+) calls upon the government and other stakeholders to take the COVID-19 threat to public health seriously and proactively prepare communities. It is clear that people need to practice maximum hygiene standards and as well as reduce social contact inorder to reduce the spread of the virus. This means that for PLHIV their frequency of visiting health facilities has also to be minimized to avoid large gatherings during refill dates. We call for the Ministry of Health and Child Care to have a plan in place for multi-month prescriptions and manage the supply chain of the medicines effectively to avoid stock-outs and as well as limit frequent visits to health facilities.

We sincerely hope that no deaths out of COVID-19 will be recorded in Zimbabwe and we call upon the responsible citizens of this country to remain SANITIZED

Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV (ZNNP+), Zimbabwe Young Positives (ZY+), Activists and other representatives of people living with HIV in Zimbabwe submitted a petition to parliament on the need for the Government of Zimbabwe to raise the more than US$6 million required as a commitment to the Global Fund in order to access US$400 million. The petition also highlighted the challenges in access to treatment by PLHIV in Zimbabwe especially second line drugs as well as expired drugs being dispensed to PLHIV. The petition was submitted on the 4th of July 2019 and discussed on the 18th of July 2019.

People living with HIV in these affected areas have not been spared from the devastating effects of Cyclone Idai. Road and bridges that provide the much needed access to health facilities for people living with HIV have either been destroyed or are impassable. Many others have also lost their anti-retroviral (ARV) medication during the flooding while thousands more have lost their access to regular meals; a critical component of the antiretroviral therapy (ART) programme.

We continue to receive calls from people living with HIV (PLHIV) who are failing to access ARV medicines particularly the second line drug Abacavir and are being referred to private pharmacies to purchase the drugs that cost ZWL$300 for a month supply (and fluctuates with the USD rate) which is beyond reach of many. This may inevitably lead to a high number of defaulters and subsequently a higher resistance rate. The higher defaulter and resistance rates may lead to a higher number of people being switched to the 3rd line regimen which is even more expensive and likely to exert more pressure on our resource constrained government.

ZNNP+ has since engaged the National Pharmaceutical Company (NatPharm) on the availability of second line medicines in Zimbabwe. They have confirmed the shortage and have indicated that they have since started distributing supplies to various Health facilities and highlighted that the situation will improve in the coming weeks. Spot checks were also conducted at various Opportunistic Infection (OI) sites within Harare and there was indeed proof that they had started receiving the stocks that were in short supply.

As a follow-up to the petition submitted to parliament, ZNNP+, ZY+ and Advocacy Core Team (ACT) will be meeting the Parliamentary Portfolio committee on Health and the Senate Committee on AIDS on a date to be advised in order to present our key issues and map way forward. Our five key issues to be discussed with the committees are as follows;

• Drug Shortages.
• Issuing of expired medicines.
• Availing of USD 6million Counterpart funding commitment under Global Fund.
• Availing of foreign currency to National Aids Trust Fund so as to enable procurement of ARVs.
• Local Production and utilization of TRIPS Flexibilities for sustainable access to HIV treatment.

ZNNP+ and ZY+ thank all PLHIV who have shared valuable information on the current drug shortages and is also appealing to the same to continue to share information regarding the availability of ARVs within their constituencies. Other views or concerns you feels should be presented to the parliamentarians also feel free to share through the below contacts.

We will keep the sector updated on the outcomes of our engagements. In the meantime ZNNP+ is continuously engaging NatPharm to ensure improved availability of drugs within all health centres.

Respect for people’s lives, we cannot afford to lose any one of us to preventable or avoidable situations.

Keep the Promise, Act Now!

For more information contact

Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV (ZNNP+)
Tel: +263 774151276;
Facebook: Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV;
Twitter: @znnpinfo;
Email: [email protected];
Website: www.znnp.org;
Whatsapp: 0772288941 (E. Chamisa)

Today, People Living with HIV (PLHIV), networks and civil society organizations gather at the Africa Unity Square in Harare to deliberate on the key challenges affecting PLHIV and to petition the government through parliament to act with greater urgency on a pending health crisis.

Never before has there been a need for all stakeholders to come together in defence of the gains realized from the over 30 years of sustained investment by government, UN Agencies, donors, the private sector, civil society organizations, community based organizations and PLHIV in Zimbabwe.

Exactly 20 years ago, PLHIV marched from Marondera to the same parliament to petition the government to make available a fund that would guarantee access to HIV treatment for all who required it. This led to the creation of the National AIDS Trust Fund (NATF) which is administered by the National AIDS Council of Zimbabwe. Today, we return to same location to remind the government to Keep the Promise and Act Now to avert a crisis that threatens the lives of over 1.4 million PLHIV in Zimbabwe particularly adolescents and young people living with HIV.

We call upon the government to urgently address the following pertinent issues:

1. The continued and continuous shortages and stock outs being experienced throughout the country particularly the second line drugs.
2. The continued disbursement of expired drugs to PLHIV. Despite the scientific assurances the mere fact that PLHIV are being asked to take expired drugs has psychological implications and consequently has adverse effects on adherence to treatment.
3. None disbursement of US$6 million towards the Global Fund replenishment. The country is being asked to commit US$6 million while we will receive more than US$400 million from the Global Fund under the current country grant. More than 70% of PLHIV receive their treatment from resources provided by the Global Fund. If the Global Fund withdraws its support, the result will be disastrous for us all.
4. Availing foreign currency for the procurement of ARVs through the National AIDS Trust Fund (NATF). The National AIDS Council has over Z$20 million siting in its account which it cannot use as they have not been allocated foreign currency for the2 procurement of its share of ARVs. Additionally, due to the 22 February monetary policy change which saw the Zimbabwe Dollar being delinked from the United States Dollar, the amount held by NAC is now far less than required for the procurement of ARVs. Instead of the over US$20 million planned this amount now translates to under US$5 million.

This is not the time to take our foot off the pedal. We are therefore asking government to honour their commitments on prioritizing the allocation of resources towards the fulfilment of PLHIV’s right to health as enshrined in the constitution. This is the only way we will achieve the 90, 90, 90 targets and achieve an AIDS free generation by 2030.

For more information contact

Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV (ZNNP+)
Tel: +263 774151276;
Facebook: Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV;
Twitter: @znnpinfo;
Email: [email protected];
Website: www.znnp.org;
Whatsapp: 0772288941 (E. Chamisa)

The Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV (ZNNP+) is greatly saddened by the loss of life due to Cyclone Idai that hit mainly Manicaland and many other parts of the country. We convey our deepest condolences to all the families that have lost their loved ones due to the cyclone. We appreciate the declaration of the cyclone tragedy as a national disaster. This will ensure the much needed flow of assistance to affected communities.

People living with HIV in these affected areas have not been spared from the devastating effects of Cyclone Idai. Road and bridges that provide the much needed access to health facilities for people living with HIV have either been destroyed or are impassable. Many others have also lost their anti-retroviral (ARV) medication during the flooding while thousands more have lost their access to regular meals; a critical component of the antiretroviral therapy (ART) programme.

As we emerge from this natural disaster, we call upon the government, through the Ministry of Health and Child Care and other arms of government to prioritize support to people living with HIV given their susceptibility to water borne infections and diseases. We also anticipate that the Ministry of Health articulate a clear strategy on how people living with HIV will be able to access lifelong ARVs in areas where clinics are inaccessible and appointments have been missed.

Appeal for Assistance to the Public

ZNNP+ is also launching an appeal to individuals, groups or corporates that would like to make donations to assist affected people living with HIV. Donations can be in cash or kind. Our offices in Harare and Mutare have been opened as receiving centres. For Harare you can drop off your donations at: 28 Divine Road, Milton Park, Harare and in Mutare you can drop off your donations at: Suit 1 Mutare Main Post Office, Mutare. You can also get in touch with Evellyn (Harare) on 0772288941 or Moses (Mutare) on 0772881120 for further details.
ZNNP+ NATIONAL COORDINATOR