Staff Writer
According to research, sexual transmitted infections are quite high in Zimbabwe, among Female Sex Workers (FSW) with one million infections being acquired daily globally.There are calls to strengthen STI control.
Women in Governance and Peace Building programmes coordinator, Prosper Tiringindi said there was need to put mechanisms such provision of adequate medication in local clinics to control the infections.
“As Women in Governance and Peacebuilding, we are deeply concerned about the rising cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs),” he said.
“We urge young girls and sex workers to prioritize safe sex and consistently use condoms to protect themselves. We are calling on the government to urgently supply STI medication to local clinics, especially in affected areas. Municipalities are failing to meet community health needs, and urgent action is needed to prevent further spread,” said Tiringindi.
According to research, sexually transmitted infection burden is high among FSWs in Zimbabwe. The low sensitivity and specificity of screening algorithms used to guide syndromic management mean that more effective approaches are required to strengthen STI control. As access to HIV-specific prevention methods like preexposure prophylaxis increases, support for consistent condom use needs to be strengthened.
Globally, an estimated 1 million curable sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are acquired every day. The World Health Organization estimated that there were 376.4 million new cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and trichomoniasis among people 15 to 49 years old, comprising 127.2 million cases of chlamydia, 86.9 million cases of gonorrhea, 156 million cases of trichomoniasis, and 6.3 million cases of syphilis.
The World Health Organization Global Health Sector Strategy on STIs, 2022–2030, aims to eliminate STIs as a public health threat by 2030.