BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI
“We are forgetting a very important group of children that contracted HIV through mother-to-child transmission and are living with HIV,” warned Hwange District Medical Officer Fungai Musinami.
“Every time we talk about HIV, we focus on prevention, condoms, and abstinence, but we neglect the children who are already living with the virus.”
Musinami, while addressing the public at Ndlovu Secondary School, emphasized that despite Zimbabwe’s progress in providing HIV services to adults, reaching the 95-95-95 targets, the country is still lagging behind in providing essential services to children.
“We are way below the target for children to have access to HIV testing, ARVs, and viral load monitoring,” she stressed.
Musinami urged awareness and understanding, saying, “There is a high chance that in your school class, there is someone your age who is living with HIV, who got infected through parent-child transmission.”
She emphasized the need to support and prioritize these children, ensuring they receive the necessary treatment and care.
“We must not forget about the children who are already living with HIV,” Musinami concluded.