Zimpapers Logo

Saul Gwakuba Ndlovu
A very interesting demographic characteristic in the form of a high HIV and Aids and tuberculosis (TB) incidence in Umzingwane District, Matabeleland South province has been noticed and announced by the Ministry of Health and Child Care.

We are referring here to a demographic aspect of the district’s community in the form of a disease and not to an administrative or management problem affecting the hospital.

It is surprising to the ministry that the area has the country’s highest number of HIV and Aids and TB patients, exceeding those of high population density centres such as Beitbridge and Plumtree, two border towns with a large number of travellers as well as resident and migratory prostitutes.

Causes of that unfortunate situation may lie in one of the district’s main economic activity, mining, which attracts mostly sexually active men from various parts of Zimbabwe.

While a large number of such men flock to Umzingwane District, many indigenous sexually active women leave the area for Bulawayo, Gwanda, Beitbridge and Plumtree where economic opportunities are more and better than in their home district characterised by omakorokoza (gold-panners).

The number of sexually active men in the Umzingwane District is greatly affected by its agricultural, pomological projects and educational institution.

Military camps lie on its outskirts. The district has quite a large number of livestock farms all of which have predominantly male employees. It has in addition, some pomological projects specialising in the production of oranges. The orchards are worked virtually by men only.

Two boys–only high schools, Mzingwane High School and Falcon College, are in that district. Their employees, particularly the non – professional, are mostly male people.

Two Zimbabwe National Army camps, one at Mbizo (Llewellin) and the other at Mbalabala, interact socially with Umzingwane District residents.

That has created an unfortunate situation where the district ratio of sexually active men to women is very high, probably six or seven men to one woman. That district’s social characteristics can be observed in the Esikhoveni, Esibomvu, Hope Fountain, How Mine sectors where villagers are mostly men and to a less extent, middle-aged women.

The district’s population comprises people involved in agriculture, mining, sole  trading, teaching, vending, fruit production and selling, brewing and selling of illicit beverages, semi-skilled employment as found in schools and hospitals, medical professionals, security personnel, pensioners and those in full time religious service.

A contributory factor to the male-female numerical disparity in that district is Zimbabwe’s current urbanisation phenomenon — a prominent characteristic of which is the drifting of mostly young women from the rural area to urban centres.

Many young women would rather sleep and cook in one room with their husbands in urban centres than live in a rural village where they have to scour the bush for firewood, and travel several kilometres to and from boreholes or wells or dams with 20litre pails of water on their heads every day.

Living in urban centres with their husbands also reduces the risk or possibility of the husbands living (and sharing their meagre financial resources) with what current socio-cultural parlance calls “small houses”.

The exodus by women from rural to urban areas has contributed greatly to the prevalence of prostitution in rural sectors and towns. But HIV and Aids and TB are not as alarmingly high in urban centres because of the accessibility of medical facilities and services.

Urban-based prostitutes and their clients are financially more able to pay for medical facilities and services than those in the rural areas.

Prostitutes’ clients are generally prepared to pay promptly for services rendered in certain circumstances such as at night clubs and brothels.

Out there in Umzingwane, where several men target one prostitute, protective material such as condoms may be in short supply more often than not, and in cases where sexually transmitted diseases are experienced, medical facilities are not as accessible; if they are, they may be unaffordable.

The HIV and Aids and TB rate of occurrence in Umzingwane can be easily understood by a study of the area’s socio-economic dynamics.

That can be done by primarily rural district councillors and MPs with the active involvement of village heads, headmen, chiefs, with the district medical officer as the co-coordinator.

Such a study would enable the relevant medical authorities to identify the socio-economic groups or social classes responsible for the spread of the pandemic.

Armed with that and other relevant information, the appropriate authorities could effectively strategise to arrest the pandemic’s devastating development.

We should acknowledge that to combat the spread of HIV and Aids and that of every sexually transmitted disease, it is necessary to use a variety of methods, fora and techniques.

High sexual values should be inculcated into the people by cultural and spiritual leaders. The main forum here is the church and traditional centres of worship including “kudaka” such as Njelele, Manyangwa, KaNtogwa, kuMutiusinazita, kaMnyanisa or wherever else.

Conventional churches should play their well-known traditional role by highlighting the Christian virtue of sexual abstinence until after marriage.

Chiefs, headmen and village heads have a duty to protect their respective communities from reckless “religious” leaders who lure credulous people to nocturnal bush prayer sessions where some self-anointed pastors rape and traumatise young women. Christian spiritual and moral guidance is done in broad daylight and not at the dead of the night.

Schools have their normal role to teach children about their bodies, about the risks of pre-marital sexual intercourse, about the high social and cultural values of a self-respecting Christian life.

Teachers should emphasise that those who promote and practise sexual promiscuity are anything but Christian.

Having said all this, what is the future of the people of Umzingwane District? What do the district’s chiefs, headmen, village heads, councillors, MPs, church-leaders and parents in general say about this tragic health situation?

The opinion of this writer is that all the leaders of that district should put their heads together and come out with a proposal to deal with the tragedy. The approach should be all – inclusive and non – partisan.

The solution should be three – pronged: curative, corrective and rehabilitative.

Those suffering from the pandemic have to be treated. That requires appropriate and adequate facilities, and the provision of sufficient and efficient medicines.

Corrective measures involve sensitising the population with the aim of changing people’s social moral behaviour. Although that is difficult, it is not impossible if a programme can be designed to do so and thereafter is strictly followed.

Rehabilitative measures would target especially destitutes and invalids. Orphaned children would also be a social group to be rehabilitated.

For such a project to succeed, it should be multi-denominational or, even better, non-denominational, non-partisan, community-led but with the Government’s blessings.

Saul Gwakuba Ndlovu is a retired, Bulawayo – based journalist. He can be contacted on cell 0734 328 136 or through email. [email protected]