Abstract
It has been decades into the HIV pandemic, the position of the disease has advanced significantly from death sentence to a chronically manageable disease that can be lived with for long time. This evolution was made possible with the advent of antiretroviral therapy which allowed HIV infected children to reach adulthood. However, sexual, and reproductive needs of these generations remain unattended in many countries. The study sought to highlight the sexual and reproductive health issues affecting young people living with HIV in Chitungwiza and Waterfalls communities, targeting HIV positive young people aged 15-24 years. A mixed methods approach was adopted in which, Qualitative and Quantitative research methods were employed. A survey was conducted with 113 young people to quantify sexual and reproductive health issues affecting young people living with HIV (YPLWH). To solicitate community perceptions and opinions on childbearing among the Adolescents and Young persons living with HIV, 8 focus group discussions and key informant interviews were conducted to qualify the data from the survey. The findings indicated that sexual and reproductive health (SRH) knowledge heavily impacts YPLWH’. Socio-cultural barriers are major inhibiting factors limiting YPLWH. The study recommends that academic research, NGOs, and other stakeholders with support from the Ministry of Health, should conduct more studies on emerging HIV and SRH issues which will help in addressing knowledge gaps and provide evidence-based knowledge in public health. Overall, this will improve the reproductive health outcomes of young people living with HIV.
Highlights
Zimbabwe National Adolescent and Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy (2016-2020) highlighted that the provision of sexual and reproductive health services, including education was consistently concentrated on adults and high-risk groups leaving out the entire population including young people
While 49% of the respondents aged between 21 and 24 years reported that they had knowledge about sexual and reproductive health, only 21%, respondents aged between 15 and 17 years reported the same
This was supported by one of the young girls who gave her remarks in an Focus group discussions (FGDs) with the support from other participants: “I became more interested to know about sexual and reproductive health when l was seventeen, after having sex with my boyfriend
Summary
Zimbabwe National Adolescent and Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy (2016-2020) highlighted that the provision of sexual and reproductive health services, including education was consistently concentrated on adults and high-risk groups leaving out the entire population including young people. Variable Age 15-17 18-20 21-24 Sex Female Male Marital Status Married/Cohabiting Never Married Widowed Divorced Religion Pentecostal Mainline Catholic Apostolic Muslims African Tradition Level of Education None Primary Education Secondary Education High School Education Tertiary Employment Full-Time Formal job Domestic job Entrepreneurship Unemployed Income Less than $100 $101 to 250 $251 to $500 Above $500 Total. Variable Age 15-17 18-20 21-24 Sex Female Male Marital Status Married/Cohabiting Never Married Widowed Divorced Religion Pentecostal Mainline Catholic Apostolic Muslims African Tradition Level of Education None Primary Education Secondary Education High School Education Tertiary Employment Full-Time Formal job Domestic job Entrepreneurship Unemployed Income No income Less than $100 $101 to 250 $251 to $500 Above $500 Total 0.521 (NS) 0.251(NS)
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