SEXUAL gender-based violence (SGBV) continues to be a major public health issue in Harare, yet less than 10% of the female victims report to health facilities for care management.
By Phyllis Mbanje
Care management includes access to Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP), which is used by anyone, who may have been exposed to HIV and involves taking anti-HIV medication soon after the exposure. The medication keeps HIV from spreading through your body, but it must be taken within 72 hours.
Of concern is that only 32% of the victims attended to in 2014 reported for services within 72 hours, which is the stipulated time frame required for services like PEP to be effective.
“Consequences of this scourge include HIV transmission, unwanted pregnancies as well as psychological effects it has on the survivor,” the Harare city health director Prosper Chonzi said.
Addressing stakeholders at the launch of a new 24 hour SGBV clinic at Wilkins hospital, Chonzi said the facility, the first of its kind, will ensure survivors have access to all services, which include counselling.
According to the Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey (ZDHS), approximately one in three women aged 15 to 49 have experienced physical violence and about one in four women have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15.
“This new free clinic will remove barriers to access health care for the urban poor,” Deputy health minister, Aldrin Musiiwa said.
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The initiative is a result of a partnership between the Health ministry, the Harare City Council and the United Populations Fund (UNFPA).
None of the current facilities offers clinical services outside the usual working hours, indicating a significant gap in service availability.
“SGBV may occur during times when most health facilities are closed, at night or often over weekends. So this 24 hour clinic will avail services to survivors any time and free of charge,” UNFPA country representative, Cheikh Tidiane Cisse, said. He appealed to stakeholders to introduce similar facilities in the high density areas.
Meanwhile, victims of SGBV can use a recently introduced SMS platform to link residents with the Harare City Council health department.
“The SMS number 34450 has become like our hotline and victims of SGBV can use that for just 10 cents,” Chonzi said.
