Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2009. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
 |
Voice of America - September 25, 2009
Sandra Nyaira
Washington
As Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe noted in remarks to the United Nations on Friday, the country while making some progress against HIV/AIDS faces a major challenge making antiretroviral drugs available to all of those who need them to live with HIV.
The Ministry of Health and National Aids Council announced this week that the drop in HIV prevalence to 13.7% from 15.6% in 2008 and 24.6% in 2003 was due to heightened awareness, showing that state and donor programs are working.
Frenk Guni, technical director for HIV-Aids with Management Systems International in Washington, told reporter Sandra Nyaira of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that celebration is not in order as 13.7% is too high a level of infection among those 15 and older.
Elsewhere, health experts have been warning for months of a potential resurgence of cholera in Zimbabwe, where a major epidemic of the disease claimed more than 4,200 lives through mid-2009. Now nine confirmed new cases of cholera have been reported in Musikavanhu district of Manicaland province, bringing the total of new cases there to 21.
Musikavanhu Member of Parliament Prosper Mutsemayi said Health Ministry officials confirmed the outbreak is cholera, having concluded earlier that they were only diarrhea.
Communications Officer Tsitsi Singizi of the United Nations Children's Fund or Unicef, said she could not provide independent confirmation of the Manicaland cases, but added that another outbreak is inevitable because much of the country still lacks clean water.
090925
VA090915
Copyright © 2009 - Voice of America. You are welcome to use any material that is published by voanews.com, or you may link to any of the web pages that Voice of America has published on the internet. There is no need to request further permission. Should you wish to establish a link to any VOA web pages, please send your request to pubaff@ibb.gov. We would appreciate that credit for any use of VOA material be given to voanews.com, Voice of America, or VOA, and we ask that you not abridge or edit any VOA material which you may use.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from the National Library of Medicine, AIDS Walk of Orange County, and donations from users like you.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. This article first appeared in 2009. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2009. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .