Zimbabwe has a general curfew. Even if it is less strictly enforced there is more difficult than in neighboring South Africa, the majority of the population cannot get through the police roadblocks. Many HIV-positive children and young people are therefore unable to obtain their vital medication. Our partners at MMPZ have taken action and set up a delivery service.
Without the medication that suppresses the HI virus in his body, it can become dangerous for Marvelous. If he doesn’t take them every day, the virus can strengthen and weaken his immune system. There is a risk of long-term health problems.
He would have to go to the nearest hospital to get the medication. But this is forbidden and anyone who ignores the ban risks a fine or worse. The police have set up police barriers everywhere and Marvelous can’t get past them.
People with an immunodeficiency, as is the case with HIV/AIDS, have a significantly higher risk of dying from Covid-19. In Zimbabwe, 1.3 million people are living with HIV/AIDS – including many children and young people.
Practical help during lockdown
Under normal circumstances, our partners at MMPZ help them to take their medication despite stigma and hopelessness. Now, in lockdown, other practical help is needed. Together with the local clinic management, our partners were able to obtain the necessary permits to set up a delivery service.
Staff at the clinic and MMPZ are now assembling the medicines and delivering the plastic bags to the young patients’ homes. So that youngsters like Marvelous can receive the vital medicines even during the lockdown.
With this commitment, our partners are able to contain some of the damage caused by the lockdown among HIV-positive people – even before the pandemic has reached its peak. Officially, only 174 of the 14 million inhabitants have been infected to date. According to the authorities, only four people have died of the disease so far.
Peak in August or September
However, these figures are unlikely to reflect reality. The number of tests carried out a week ago was still around 35,000, as “All Africa” writes. Too few to paint a clear picture of the situation. There are good reasons to assume that the number of unreported cases is significantly higher.
“Already, significantly more deaths due to malaria have been reported than in previous years. However, it is doubtful that these are all malaria deaths,” says Hafid Derbal, the coordinator for Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Only the legal returnees from South Africa and Botswana are being tested relatively consistently. The results of these tests alone have doubled the number of infections in recent days to the current level. However, many cross the border illegally and could therefore contribute to the virus spreading even faster in the country.
An end to the situation is nowhere in sight. Even if forecasts for Zimbabwe are extremely difficult, international players in Zimbabwe expect the coronavirus crisis to peak in August or September.
We can only hope that the pandemic in Africa will be milder than feared. For the time being, Zimbabwe will remain in lockdown indefinitely and HIV-positive people like Marvelous will continue to be dependent on our partners’ delivery services.
Read more about the situation in Zimbabwe in our current magazine.
