35.3 Million people living with HIV in the World
Health and Social Welfare minister Dr Hussein Mwinyi
HIV prevalence is varies by region and within region whereby Njombe Region has the highest prevalence of 14.8 per cent and the lowest prevalence is recorded in Manyara Region at 1.5 percent.
According to THMIS III in Tanzania evidence suggest that specific population are at increased risk for HIV infections, including Injecting Drug Users(IDU), Men who have Sex with Men (MSM), Female Sex Workers (FSW), among female sex workers in Dar es Salam HIV prevalence has been reported as high as 31.4 per cent.
Other region with their HIV prevalence is as follows: Iringa 9.1 per cent, Mbeya 9.0 per cent , Shinyanga 7.4 per cent, Ruvuma 7.0 per cent , Dar es Salaam 6.9 per cent , Rukwa 6.2 per cent , Katavi 5.9 percent ,Coast 5.9 per cent,Tabora 5.1, Kagera 4.8, Geita 4.7, Mara 4.5, Mwanza 4.2, Mtwara 4.1,Kilimanjaro 3.8 percent, Morogoro 3.8 per cent , Simiyu 3.6 per cent , Kigoma 3.4 per cent ,Singida 3.3 per cent , Arusha 3.2 per cent , Dodoma 2.9 per cent ,Lindi 2.9per cent , Tanga 2.4 per cent , Manyara 1.5 per cent ,Unguja 1.2 per cent and last one is Pemba 0.3 per cent.
By the end of 2012 the estimated number of people living with HIV was 1.6 million and a total of 68,447were newly HIV infected people aged 15-49 years.
Overall 5.1 per cent of Tanzanians aged 15-49 are HIV-positive. HIV prevalence is higher among women (6.2 per cent) than among men (3.8 per cent) and HIV prevalence is higher in urban areas for both women and men than in rural areas.
A comparison of the 2007-08 THMIS and 2011-12 THMIS HIV estimates indicate that HIV prevalence has declined slightly from 5.7 per cent to 5.1 per cent among adults age 15-49. Similarly, HIV prevalence has declined among women, from 6.6 per cent to 6.2 per cent, and among men, from 4.6 per cent to 3.8per cent.
According to THMIS 2011/2012, in relation to marital status, the highest HIV prevalence is among adults who have been widowed (25per cent), followed by those that are divorced (13 per cent).
Fifteen percent of women and nine per cent of men who are divorced or separated are HIV positive, compared with 5 per cent of women or men who were currently in union. One percent of never married women and men who have never had sex are HIV positive.
The THMIS 2011-12 indicates that nine per cent of young women and 10 per cent of men aged of 15-24 reported to have sexual intercourse for the first time before the age of 15. Furthermore 50 per cent of women and 43per cent of men had reported to have sexual intercourse before the age of 18 years.
Data from the 2011-12 THMIS show that 3.8 per cent of women and 20.8per cent of men had reported to have sexual intercourse with more than one partner in the last 12 months while in 2007/2008 data; 2.7 per cent of women and 17.9 per cent of men had reported to have sexual intercourse with more than one partner in the last 12 months.
According to the report, challenges that were noted during the implementation of HIV prevention initiatives include, lack of comprehensive HIV and Aids programmes for key populations, low use of condoms during high risk sex, inadequate postpartum/postnatal link for care and follow up services for mothers and HIV exposed babies
Others are limited workplace programmes for HIV and AIDS interventions in public, private and informal sectors, presence of social cultural norms fuelling the spread of HIV and Aids, behaviour change interventions towards application of ABC and few programmes addressing gender based violence and violence against children.
The report recommended that Tanzania government in collaboration with other HIV and Aids stakeholder’s need to design and implement HIV and Aids programmes for key populations, The government of Tanzania should continue and scale up of condom programming activities,
The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in collaboration with partners should strengthen care and link for care and follow up of mothers and HIV exposed babies. The government should budget and implement workplace HIV and Aids programmes and should collaborate with development partners to address gender violence and violence against the children
The National HIV and Aids annual response report provides details on the progress the country has made in response to the HIV epidemic for the period of January to December 2012.
Tanzania is among countries hard hit by HIV/Aids epidemic. Recent reports from the ministry of health indicate that since the first three cases were reported in 1983, a total 118,713 cases have been reported from health facilities in the country by the end of the year 1999.
It is however estimated that cumulatively about 600,000 have developed HIV/AIDS, and about 2 million people have been infected with the HIV/Aids virus. The report also shows that 70.5 percent of new HIV infections are in the 25 - 49 age group and 15 percent in the 15 - 24 age groups. About 72,000 newborn babies were infected with HIV in 1999.
SOURCE:
THE GUARDIAN
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