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Patrick Chitumba Senior Reporter
THE United Nations Aids Agency (UNAids) has commended Zimbabwe’s efforts in fighting HIV and Aids.
In a recent report, the UN agency said while the country has a major HIV and Aids burden, it has made huge strides towards containing it.

Zimbabwe’s progress was also noted in contributing five percent of the global total of people accessing anti-retroviral therapy between 2010 and 2013.

“The country has achieved universal access coverage in most of the lifesaving interventions and the percentage of HIV-positive pregnant women who receive antiretroviral medication to reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission,” the report states.

The report indicates that although Zimbabwe accounted for three percent of all new HIV infections globally in 2013, there has been a 34 percent decline in the number of new infections in the country between 2005 and last year.

The report said there are hotspots for HIV infection such as border towns, mining areas, growth points and farms.

The report said HIV prevalence is slightly higher in urban areas than in rural areas  and nationally, it was said to be 1,5 times higher in women than in men in the 15-24 age group.

“Zimbabwe accounts for three percent of all new HIV infections globally in 2013, but there has been a 34 percent  decline in the number of new infections in Zimbabwe between 2005 and 2013,” said the report.

“Similarly, Zimbabwe accounts for four percent of all Aids deaths in 2013, but deaths from Aids in Zimbabwe have declined by 57 percent between 2005 and 2013.”

The National Aids Council says at least 1,242,768 people are living with HIV in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe’s population stands at 13 million people.