“Mining towns have the highest HIV prevalence in Zimbabwe. This is due to the availability of resources among the men in those areas which leads to them buying sex from local women,” said Dr Magure.
He explained that when a mine is set up, hundreds of men are placed in an area were there are only a few women. This invariably leads to the men sharing the few available sex workers and the HIV virus spreads at a much faster rate.
The majority of mining operations in Zimbabwe are labour intensive with whole families living in closed communities. This promotes sexual networks which then become major drivers of HIV in the sector.
In the Chiyadzwa area in Mutare, which has been made famous by the discovery of diamonds, makorokoza (miners) as they are known, have a lot of disposable income
that some of them end up spending on sex.
Employees often travel long distances and spend long periods away from
their families, resulting in a tendency for high risk sexual behaviour.
Post published in: News