Men refusing to go for HIV testing in Gokwe are being dragged before Chiefs and ordered to pay a goat fine as a measure to encourage them to test regularly, it has been reported.
According to state media, Mambewu Shumba said because of the chiefs’ interventions, Gokwe North was doing well when it comes to fighting the scourge.
Shumba,a National Aids Council (Nac), Midlands provincial HIV and Aids coordinator , was addressing provincial parastatal heads at an HIV and Aids sensitisation meeting on Wednesday.
Although he could not name the chiefs who have taken such a stance, Shumba said the district was leading in terms of the prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV.
However a report by B-Metro in April cited Chief Nemangwe.
Chief Nemangwe said it was a winning strategy.
“We realised that most men were reluctant to go for testing, as such we devised a strategy to make them comply. A man who refuses to test is fined a goat,” the chief said.
He said husbands are fined a goat by their chiefs for refusing to accompany their wives for PMTCT.
“Gokwe North and South districts are number one. They lead in the number of couples who go for HIV and AIDS testing. Husbands accompany their wives to the clinic for testing helping in the prevention of mother to child transmission. Chiefs also fine people who don’t go for testing as a means of enticing them to go for testing,” he said.
He said Nac had also made progress in outreach programmes which include condom use in areas such as Zenda and Nora which have had an influx of illegal gold panners.
Shumba said gold panners in the areas had systems in place to fight HIV and Aids.
“The gold panners in Zenda and Nora have a system in place. They’ve focal persons where they collect condoms from. We’re however in the process of conducting a study to see why the area has low prevalence and new infections as compared to other districts in the province,” he said.
Shumba said of the eight districts in the province, Kwekwe and Gweru were the HIV hot spots.
