Desire
is
a
former
barman
and
sex
worker
who
was
born
and
brought
up
in
Victoria
Falls.
When
he
found
out
from
a
friend
that
there
was
a
job
opening
at
the
clinic
he
readily
applied.
His
boundless
energy
and
social
skills
meant
that
he
was
quickly
hired
and
trained
to
become
a
peer
educator.
North
Star
Alliance
clinics
are
located
in
areas
with
high
HIV
prevalence.
They
offer
primary
health-care
services,
services
for
sexually
transmitted
infections
and
malaria,
HIV
counselling
and
testing
and
screening
for
tuberculosis.
Through
the
clinic,
essential
health
services
are
brought
closer
to
the
people
who
need
them
most
in
a
comfortable
environment
without
prejudice.
“Owing
to
stigma
and
discrimination,
most
sex
workers
and
men
who
have
sex
with
men
don’t
attend
public
health
facilities.
Instead,
they
go
to
private
clinics
or
nongovernmental
organizations
for
condoms,”
Desire
explained.
Stepping
up
HIV
prevention
efforts
in
Zimbabwe
has
had
impressive
results.
In
2015,
there
were
64
000
new
HIV
infections,
down
from
87
000
in
2005
and
220
000
in
1992.
However,
HIV
prevalence
among
sex
workers
remains
extremely
high—at
more
than
57%
in
2015.
“Since
I
started
working
as
a
peer
educator
I
have
seen
what
importance
the
clinic
has
in
a
city
like
Victoria
Falls,
where
we
see
a
high
demand
for
our
services,”
Desire
explained.
Victoria
Falls
is
a
tourist
destination,
a
transit
town
between
Zimbabwe
and
Zambia
and
a
major
truck
stop.
On
average,
the
clinic
sees
about
35
female
sex
workers,
10
to
15
male
sex
workers
and
45
to
50
truck
drivers
a
week.
Desire
is
most
proud
of
his
outreach
and
community
mobilization
work,
which
builds
on
a
strong
community
empowerment
foundation
for
sex
workers
and
men
who
have
sex
with
men.
“What
I
want
is
for
everyone
to
keep
themselves
healthy,”
he
said.
Zimbabwe
is
taking
a
leading
role
in
efforts
to
increase
HIV
prevention
across
the
region.
On
23
and
24
March,
Zimbabwe
will
host
a
regional
expert
meeting
on
revitalizing
HIV
prevention
in
the
eastern
and
southern
Africa
region
at
Victoria
Falls.
The
meeting
will
seek
to
set
national
HIV
prevention
targets
as
part
of
the
implementation
of
the
2016
United
Nations
Political
Declaration
on
Ending
AIDS.
UNAIDS
Deputy
Executive
Director
Luiz
Loures
will
be
among
the
attendees
of
the
meeting.
“This
meeting
will
be
an
excellent
opportunity
for
partners
from
across
the
region
to
come
together,
to
develop
capacity,
to
create,
replicate
and
scale-up
effective
programmes
to
advance
efforts
towards
ending
the
AIDS
epidemic
in
eastern
and
southern
Africa,”
said
Mr
Loures.
UNAIDS
continues
to
advocate
strongly
for
the
scale-up
of
HIV
prevention
and
is
working
with
countries
to
ensure
that
90%
of
people
in
high
HIV
prevalence
countries,
including
Zimbabwe,
who
are
at
risk
of
HIV
infection
are
reached
by
comprehensive
HIV
prevention
services,
as
outlined
in
the
2016
United
Nations
Political
Declaration
on
Ending
AIDS.
Post
published
in:
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