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Country Brief New!
Read SMARTWork's assessment of HIV/AIDS prevention in Zimbabwe, and recommendations for addressing the epidemic.
Mapping Study New!
Read this inventory of the tools and resources used by organizations with workplace HIV/AIDS programs in Zimbabwe.
Project Plan
Read SMARTWork's targeted plan for Zimbabwe.
Search Materials Database New!
Search for information, education, and communication materials used in Zimbabwe.
Upcoming Events
Check the calendar to view upcoming events in Zimbabwe.
Resources
Browse our collection of web resources related to HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe.
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Zimbabwe
HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe
SMARTWork/Zimbabwe
Resources
Zimbabwe IEC/BCC Toolkit
Photographs
HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe's HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is the third highest in the world, after Botswana and Swaziland. With as many as 2 million people living with HIV/AIDS, the nation is one of those most profoundly affected by the epidemic. Significant facts include:
- The epidemic has reduced life expectancy in Zimbabwe to 39 years of age. Each year, 124,000 Zimbabweans die from AIDS-related causes, and 2,000 new infections occur every day. Approximately 70% of hospital admissions are now HIV-related.
- One-third of all adults between the ages of 15 and 49 are living with HIV/AIDS; 50% of those infected are between ages of 15 and 24. These individuals are in their most sexually active years, as well as their most economically productive.
- Over 90% of cases are transmitted through unprotected heterosexual intercourse. Young women are particularly vulnerable to infection by older male sexual partners.
- High rates of unemployment force people (particularly women and young people) into dangerous and illegal activities such as survival sex. Fear of stigma and discrimination makes people reluctant to seek counseling and testing services; the majority of the adult population does not know their serostatus.
HIV/AIDS is devastating an economy already crippled by drought, severe food shortages, inflation, high unemployment, and overwhelming poverty. The worsening humanitarian situation has further compounded the nation's economic woes. At the same time, most Zimbabweans living with HIV/AIDS are young and economically productive, but lack access to care and support programs.
The disease's impact on the nation's economy has been devastating. HIV/AIDS has significantly increased employer costs for health care, funerals, absenteeism, training, recruitment, and lost productivity. At the same time, fear has led to stigma in the workplace and caused discrimination against those living with the disease.
The government has taken several steps to respond to the epidemic. Among them is Statutory Instrument 202 of the 1998 Labor Relations Act, which addresses HIV/AIDS in the workplace and establishes the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees. Additionally, the 1999 National HIV/AIDS Policy addresses human rights, public health, care and treatment, the impact of gender, educational and research needs. The National AIDS Levy raises about $20 million annually for HIV/AIDS.
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SMARTWork/Zimbabwe
SMARTWork/Zimbabwe was launched in Harare by the Academy for Educational Development in September 2002. The program was jointly funded by the United States Department of Labor and the CDC. The project's field operations ended on March 31, 2005 having accomplished the following:
- Created a Zimbabwe-focused toolkit titled, "A Healthy Workforce: A Toolkit for HIV and AIDS Advocacy and Behavior Change Communication in the Workplace." The toolkit is comprised of HIV/AIDS in the workplace-related information, education, and communication/behavior change communication (IEC/BCC) materials.
- Conducted a nationwide needs assessment in 2003 that identified barriers and opportunities for best addressing HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwean workplaces. Over 2,000 organizations were surveyed, case studies of 10 organizations were prepared, and the project produced the Mapping and Inventory Report, Needs Assessment Report, and Country Brief.
- Conducted site visits to 40 organizations and assisted in the development of 25 workplace HIV/AIDS policies.
- Established a Tripartite Advisory Board on HIV/AIDS in the workplace that included representatives from the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, Employers' Confederation of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Business Council on AIDS, Ministry of Labor, Ministry of Health, National AIDS Council, and several other HIV/AIDS service organizations.
- Offered grants to nine leading business and labor union organizations in 2003, and provided extensive technical assistance and oversight to help these organizations develop and implement their own HIV/AIDS workplace policies and programs.
- Provided comprehensive training and technical assistance to numerous other organizations on workplace programming, including: HIV/AIDS prevention education, management of opportunistic infections (OIs) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), stigma and discrimination reduction, care and psychosocial support, access to voluntary counseling and testing (VCT), antiretroviral (ARV) treatment awareness, and wellness and nutrition.
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Resources
For more information on HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe, click here to access the UNAIDS 2004 Zimbabwe Epidemiological Fact Sheet.
For more information on SMARTWork/Zimbabwe, contact:
Matthew W. Roberts, Ph.D.
Project Director
Academy for Educational Development
Center on AIDS & Community Health (COACH)
1825 Connecticut Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20009 USA
Tel. 202/884-8646
Fax. 202/884-8474
Email. mroberts@aed.org
OR
CDC Zimbabwe
Nestle House 38
Samora Machel Avenue, 2nd Floor
Harare, Zimbabwe
haders@zimcdc.co.zw
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Zimbabwe IEC/BCC Toolkit New!
AED SMARTWork's, A Healthy Workforce: A Toolkit for HIV and AIDS Advocacy and Behavior Change Communication in the Workplace, was released in May 2005. Developed for use by Zimbabwean companies without ready access to external technical assistance, the materials also can be easily adapted for use by other enterprises. The toolkit outlines the processes for creating and implementing a workplace HIV/AIDS policy in a simple, "do it yourself" format, and it also contains HIV/AIDS prevention education materials for workers and their partners.
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