BULAWAYO province recorded a steep decline in new HIV infections in 2024 from figures recorded in 2020, the National Aids Council (NAC) has said.
Presenting the 2025 HIV Estimate Report during a media engagement meeting held at the Blue Hills Camp in Esigodini on Tuesday, NAC Bulawayo provincial monitoring and evaluation officer Primrose Sethule Dube said the rate of HIV infection had dropped by 44%.
She said the projection was aimed at estimating key HIV indicators in the country, adding that they were using it for surveillance, among other tasks they wanted to conduct.
Dube said NAC wanted to understand the trajectory of the HIV epidemic and monitor the HIV response and inform targets on national strategic framework and donor agreements.
“So we are using them, to see where we are in terms of laid down targets such as the 95-95-95 target as well as our 2030 targets,” she said.
“For this year from our estimates in 2024 it was estimated that 76 608 people were living with HIV, down from 79 711 in 2020.”
Dube said the findings established that there was an HIV prevention success resulting in the 44% reduction in infections across all age groups, while treatment progress of 98,3% ART coverage was achieved, up from 87,5% in 2020.
She said the number of people living with HIV was declining with the total HIV population decreasing by 3 103 individuals from 2020 to 2024, indicating successful prevention and treatment strategies.
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A breakdown of the decline indicates that male living with HIV declined from 30 273 to 28 776 which is a 4,9% reduction, while females declined from 49 438 to 47 832, a 3,2% reduction.
Dube said there was a sharp decline in HIV infections from 1 016 total infections across all ages, a 44% reduction to 567 infections, affecting both genders equally in 2024.
“There were greatest improvements among young people (50% reduction from 234 to 117) and children (50% reduction from 158 to 88), demonstrating effective prevention strategies,” she said.
On HIV and Aids-related deaths, Dube said it was estimated that 946 deaths were recorded during the same period.
She said Bulawayo accounted for 5,7% of Zimbabwe's 16 723 Aids-related deaths that were recorded in 2024, showing that despite treatment advances, mortality remained significant, highlighting the need for enhanced healthcare access and community awareness programmes across the province.
On ART in 2024, Bulawayo recorded an overall coverage of 98,3% with an adult coverage of 98,7%, a child coverage at 88%, a tremendous improvement compared to the 2020 coverage which put them closer to the achieved universal treatment access.
In terms of their Fast Track Targets: 95-95-95 progress, Dube said 95% of people living with HIV knew their status, a sign that they were moving towards the 2030 international goal of eliminating HIV infection.
On ART initiation, Dube said there were 98% of diagnosed individuals receiving treatment and on the viral suppression with 96% achieving undetectable viral loads.
“Overall, the adult population shows 99% awareness, 99% ART initiation and 96% viral suppression, demonstrating exceptional public health success,” she said.
“Children show mixed performance against 95/95/95 targets, highlighting the need for enhanced paediatric HIV services and adherence support.”Dube said the overall decline suggested improved health management with the overall prevalence in 2024 recording a decline of 13,2% from 2020 among adults 15-49 while prevalence in males decreased from 9,9%.
She said while prevalence in females went down to 16,3% it was still significantly higher than in males.
She said prevalence by age and sex showed that the province revealed a mature epidemic profile and HIV prevalence peaks at 26-28% among females aged 30-39, while males peaked at 20-22% in the 40-49 age group.
“Young females (15-19) show 5% prevalence compared to 2-3% in males, highlighting HIV early vulnerability patterns that require targeted prevention strategies,” she said.
Dube said records showed that HIV incidence remained disproportionately high among young females, with 15 to 19-year-olds females showing a 6,5 times higher incidence than males and 15-24 young women experiencing 2 to 2,5 times higher incidence than males.
“Ages 25-34 gender gap narrows but females still show higher rates, Age 35+ trend reverses with males showing 20-30% higher incidence. Targeted prevention for young women remains the highest priority for epidemic control,” Dube said.
“Bulawayo demonstrates clear progress in HIV epidemic control through declining prevalence, incidence and new infections, coupled with exceptional treatment coverage.”
Dube noted that sustained commitment to addressing gender disparities, enhancing paediatric care, and expanding prevention services we will consolidate these gains and advance towards epidemic elimination.
