Young women in Matabeleland South are getting hammered by HIV at rates higher than anywhere else in Zimbabwe, and a health official is pointing straight at poverty as the main culprit. The National Aids Council guy for that province said broke girls are ending up in sketchy relationships with older dudes who have cash, and they can't really push back on safe sex when money's involved. A bunch of them are also crossing into South Africa or Botswana after school, trying to find work, but without papers or skills, they wind up doing sex work and getting exposed.
The region is sitting at 15 percent HIV prevalence with about 93,000 infected people out of 760,000 total. NAC is trying to get traditional leaders involved through some village campaign to shut down child marriages and gender-based violence that's making everything worse.
The region is sitting at 15 percent HIV prevalence with about 93,000 infected people out of 760,000 total. NAC is trying to get traditional leaders involved through some village campaign to shut down child marriages and gender-based violence that's making everything worse.
