Story by Abigirl Tembo, Health Editor
Zimbabwe’s commitment to combating HIV and AIDS has been lauded on the global stage, with the country’s AIDS levy cited as having become key to fighting the pandemic.
National AIDS Council chief executive officer Dr Bernard Madzima, who recently attended the International AIDS Conference in Munich, Germany, says Zimbabwe was cited as a model for other countries to emulate in terms of sustainable HIV programming.
The AIDS levy, a mandatory tax imposed on individuals and businesses, has provided a steady stream of funding for HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services.
“This year the International Aids Conference was held in Munich, Germany and the key issues which came out in terms of HIV AIDS going forward where the issues of leadership. We need to have a strong political leadership if we are going to end AIDS by 2030. In that regard, Zimbabwe was hailed as an example of having a sustainable HIV programme because of the AIDS levy which the country has implemented for the past 20 years, so leadership was a key issue at he conference,” he said.
“The other key issue which came out was letting science lead. As we move to end HIV by 2030 the key issues have been on treatment and prevention. So the long acting ARV to prevent HIV needs to be cascaded to the lowest levels so that anyone who needs that treatment gets it this is to prevent HIV infection. There are newer drugs which are coming which are more effective which suppress the viral load to levels where someone cannot transmit HIV. So the third issue was about communities letting communities lead. HIV has been brought down in terms of its management to the communities as they should take charge of the HIV programmes at the lower levels so that everyone has got a responsibility,“ he added.
The AIDS levy has been a cornerstone of Zimbabwe’s HIV response for the past two decades.
This sustainable funding mechanism has been instrumental in driving the country’s progress against the epidemic.
Zimbabwe’s attainment of the UN AIDS 95-95-95 targets is a testament to the levy’s effectiveness in ensuring widespread HIV testing, treatment and viral suppression.
