By Mvelo Mthiyane Zondo
Gwanda – The management of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among adolescents and young people remains a major challenge in Matabeleland South, with partner tracing, limited resources and inadequate health facility infrastructure hampering efforts to curb the spread of infections.
Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC) Matabeleland South provincial manager Blessed Bukhosi Gumbi said the province’s highly mobile and transient population, particularly in mining communities, was contributing to the prevalence of STIs among young people.
Gumbi made the remarks during a joint engagement involving the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development and the Thematic Committee on HIV and AIDS at the ZNFPC Gwanda Family Planning Boardroom.
He said partner tracing among adolescents aged between 15 and 24 remained difficult, while inadequate resources were making it challenging to reach young people in underserved communities.
“Partner tracing for STI treatment among adolescents (15 to 24 years) is a challenge, compounded by inadequate resources to reach the last mile of young people,” Gumbi said.
He also cited limited space at health facilities, which he said compromised auditory privacy during peak hours, as well as poverty-driven transactional sex in mining communities among the factors complicating efforts to control STIs and HIV.
“Mat South is basically a very high HIV-burden province, with high teenage pregnancy, above the national average of 23 percent, while we are above 30 percent,” he said.
“The key drivers are the high mobile and transient population, hence these issues around STIs are rife.”
Gumbi said the province was recording an estimated 25 000 to 30 000 STI cases among adolescents, describing the figure as a major public health concern.
“STIs among adolescents range between 25 000 to 30 000, which is a very high figure. However, as ZNFPC, we are providing an integrated approach where all services are under one roof,” he said.
To improve information dissemination, ZNFPC has also turned to social media, where young people increasingly spend much of their time.
“As we tap into all avenues of information dissemination, we noticed that young people are into social media, hence we engaged a social media champion who has 87 000 followers who cascade messages targeting young people about responsible sexual engagement and also to seek STI treatment early and abstain,” Gumbi said.
Responding to the concerns raised, Parliamentary Portfolio Committee chairperson Angeline Tongogara pledged to take the issues to Parliament, particularly the shortage of space at the facility.
“Some of the issues of concern is the waiting shelter, which is very critical because this place is very small. Their clinic only takes four people,” she said.
Tongogara also appealed to companies and other stakeholders to support efforts to improve healthcare infrastructure and services for young people.
“We also invite other like-minded companies to come in and help the situation because we cannot do it alone,” she said.
Gumbi called for increased government funding to strengthen outreach programmes, including the provision of dedicated mobile clinical vehicles and equipment to reach students at tertiary institutions and young people in hard-to-reach areas.
“We also advocate for the mandate of compulsory adolescent and youth health service orientation modules across all higher and tertiary institutions in the country,” he said.
He further called for a legislative framework to standardise stipends for peer educators at tertiary institutions, saying this would strengthen youth-led health education and outreach initiatives.
STIs pose a particular challenge among young people with multiple or concurrent sexual partners because untreated partners can contribute to reinfection. Effective management therefore requires not only treatment of the individual but also partner notification, testing and treatment.
ZNFPC is seeking to address these challenges through expanded, free and youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services aimed at improving early treatment, reducing stigma and removing barriers that prevent young people from accessing care.
