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Improving access to information in rural Zimbabwe
Kudakwashe Machawira, Health & Development Network Key Correspondent
May 29, 2007

http://www.healthdev.org/sendmail.aspx?id=d42b57a3-1bcc-4b16-b9ce-ca885cdfda3e

In Zimbabwe, accurate, up-to-date information on HIV is hard to come by in most rural areas. Urban dwellers, by contrast, have access to media and numerous other sources of information which are absent in much of the countryside.

Organisations such as the Zimbabwe AIDS Network play an important role in the dissemination of information in the country as a whole but they have to do more for information to reach remote rural areas.

In Hurungwe district, as in many rural parts of Zimbabwe, most people have little or no knowledge about HIV.

Many people believe that they can become infected by HIV if they get close to someone who is HIV-positive, or that sharing utensils or even clothes, with someone who is HIV-positive can spread the virus. As a result they believe that people living with HIV (PLHIV) should be isolated for the protection of public health.

Many people in rural areas still hold beliefs that have been prevalent since HIV first became known to Africa, over 25 years ago. Lacking information on the disease, people respond with ignorance.

What can be done so that these people get accurate information and statistics about HIV? And whose responsibility is it to ensure that the information is sufficient to dispel the myths that are widespread in rural areas?

Government and non-governmental organisations (NGO) must work together to find a workable solution that will allow rural people to gain access to the latest information on HIV.

In Zimbabwe today, NGOs frequently blame the political environment for obstructing the dissemination of information to rural people. They accuse local political leaders of being stumbling blocks. As a result, NGOs often neglect rural areas. In consequence rural people are deprived of critical and relevant information on HIV.

As a first step, NGOs should respect community level leadership structures. This would enable them better access to rural areas. This is a vital component in getting information out to the grassroots, as it reduces the possibility of conflict between NGOs and political leaders.

NGOs should also fully reveal details of how they want to operate in the local communities to ensure that community leaders are appropriately informed. Thus NGO programmes should be well documented and shared widely throughout the local level leadership structures.

The local community must be included at every level of the implementation of programmes and identification of opinion leaders must involve every sector within. Women in particular must be encouraged to join in the process because of their subordinate social status.

Apart from leadership and political concerns, there are also cultural issues that need to be taken into account for effective dissemination of information.

In Hurungwe district, for example, there are parents who find it difficult to talk to their children about sexual issues because of their cultural beliefs. These parents believe that it is the role of uncles and aunts to communicate such matters. Contemporary pressures make it difficult to maintain this cultural practice. This puts young people at risk, because they often lack the appropriate information to make the best decisions about sex.

In this matter the Ministry of Education and Culture and the National AIDS Council must cooperate to make sure that information reaches vulnerable youth.

Above all, it must be the obligation of all sectors of society to work together to ensure that the necessary resources are invested into making HIV information widely available in Zimbabwe's rural areas.

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