Campuses hit by high number of HIV infections

High numbers of new HIV infections are being recorded in tertiary institutions in Zimbabwe. It has become commonplace at graduation ceremonies for students to be awarded degrees or diplomas posthumously, after having succumbed to HIV-Aids.

The National Aids Council, or NAC, has started HIV-Aids training at tertiary institutions to try and tackle the alarming development.

“This is a worrying trend and the training of focal persons is aimed at ensuring that students, especially those in their first year, are guided and have adequate information,” said NAC National Youth Coordinator Beauty Nyamwanza.

Coordinator of the Student Solidarity Trust, Simbarashe Moyo, said the harsh economic situation was forcing students into risky behaviour, including girls engaging in prostitution and male students entering sexual relationships with older women, called ‘sugar mummies’.

A continuing economic crisis saw nearly 10,000 jobs lost last year alone, after 75 companies closed, according to the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, the country’s largest workers umbrella body. This after more than a decade of economic decline.

Moyo said all these problems could be traced back to the government’s doorstep.

“I would say the major contributor is the harsh economic condition that is forcing students to do anything to make ends meet. There is no government support. They used to enjoy government support in the form of grants and loans, but all that is gone,” said Moyo.

“In the end they are forced to do anything for fees, food, transport and accommodation.”

Following diplomatic disputes with Western countries over human rights abuses and the redistribution of land, followed by sanctions, Zimbabwe has experienced successive budget deficits, which has forced it to cut back dramatically on spending, including education.

At one point there was a plan to provide student loans from the proceeds of diamonds, but that did not materialise.

Recently Siendiswa Ndlovu, a programme officer with SayWhat – an NGO that provides a platform for students to meet, engage and interact on sexual and reproductive health – told Newsday that there was no standardised sex education at higher education institutions.

New students entered higher education with absolutely no idea on how to deal with newfound freedoms and were engaging in behaviour that made them vulnerable to HIV infection.

According to the Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey for 2010-11, HIV prevalence in the 15- to 24-year age group is 10%.