HIV prevalence in the town has increased following the participation of children aged between 12 and 16 in prostitution to earn money. The youngsters have been seen in the asbestos mining town soliciting commercial sex.
Investigations carried by The Zimbabwean revealed that most of the children involved in the sex industry have unemployed parents who lost their jobs in Shabani Mashaba Mines (SMM).
SMM was taken over from Mutumwa Mawere by the government in 2004, but production has since collapsed. Over 2 000 workers have been retrenched.
Munyaradzi Nhengo, the Programmes Officer of Padare/Enkuhleni, a men’s forum on gender which has intervened to alleviate child prostitution in the area, said advocacy work was underway.
“What we are trying to do is to empower the children with the knowledge that there are several other alternatives that can be pursued for one to earn a living,” he explained.
Midlands Provincial Aids Committee member (PAC) Emmanuel Rubaya said influential leadership in Zvishavane should also be roped in to curtail the crisis.
“The councillors and other stakeholders should be brought in to resolve the problem,” Rubaya said.
Statistics released by National Aids Council (NAC) for this year’s second quarter show that Zvishavane is now ahead of several other districts in the province in terms of patients under Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART).
Post published in: Zimbabwe News