Shinyanga and Simiyu Lake Zone regions have some of the highest HIV/Aids prevalence levels, which researchers say relate to fast urbanization of various districts due to mining and related activities.
Laurean Bwanakunu, executive director of Ariel Glaser Pediatric Aids Healthcare Initiative (AGPAHI), told a staff development workshop in Arusha that Kahama was the most affected area. “The district has 9 per cent prevalence, way beyond the current average national rate of 5.1 per cent, having dropped from 7 per cent in 2008,” he said.
He described the situation as worrying because of the high levels of poverty in the area.
AGPAHI is currently implementing projects aimed at reducing mother-to-child HIV transmission in Shinyanga, Simiyu and Geita regions.
With one million people, Kahama is the second most populous district in the country after Kinondoni in Dar es Salaam and is the only one with three district councils Ushetu, Msalala and Kahama town and has a record 54 wards.
Bwanakunu said under the programme, which kicked off in October last year, following a US$4 million from the United States, at least 35,000 AIDS patients in the three regions were on a drugs regime. Under the programme every pregnant woman has to be tested on her HIV status.
The programme is supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the US President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR).
SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY
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