ZIMBABWE’S fight against HIV is faltering where it should never have — among the elderly.
At Mpilo Central Hospital’s Centre of Excellence, doctors warn that older adults are contracting HIV at alarming rates, driven by the dangerous myth that the virus only affects the young.
Zimbabwe has made great strides in reducing new HIV infections, but the elderly are fast becoming a dangerous blind spot.
This myth that HIV is a “young people’s disease” has bred complacency, leaving seniors vulnerable to infection.
Many dismiss prevention measures such as condoms, seeing them only as tools to prevent pregnancy rather than protection against disease.
Once past childbearing age, they assume the risk no longer applies.
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But the virus does not discriminate by age.
New infections are being recorded among people above 50, driven by low risk perception, cultural silence and gaps in health screening.
In our culture, adults are expected to lecture the young about sex, not the other way around.
As a result, conversations about sexual health with elders are avoided, and even doctors often overlook HIV testing for older patients.
This mindset is not only outdated — it is deadly.
It leaves many elderly people misdiagnosed or untreated until it is too late.
Worse, it perpetuates stigma by reinforcing the false belief that only the reckless youth can contract HIV.
We cannot afford this denial.
HIV is not bound by age, status or stage in life.
The elderly remain sexually active and without protection or testing, they remain at risk.
Public health campaigns must break the silence, address taboos and challenge the myths.
Doctors must place HIV screening higher on the checklist for older patients.
Churches, community leaders and families must open up spaces for frank discussions about sexuality and ageing.
Zimbabwe cannot pretend it is on track for 95-95-95 and 2030 targets while ignoring this crisis.
Every new infection in the elderly adds to the burden on a collapsing health system and risks reversing decades of progress.
We cannot allow the government to keep quiet as this crisis unfolds.
The Health ministry must have dedicated prevention campaigns for seniors.
The Information ministry must not avoid the subject because it is “sensitive”.
The Social Welfare ministry, too, should do something to integrate HIV education into elderly care.
At the moment, we do not want to call it neglect.
HIV prevention strategies must include the elderly, with testing, awareness campaigns, and treatment tailored for them.
At the moment, HIV campaigns are almost always youth-focused, leaving older adults invisible.
The result? Preventable infections silently spreading among our elders.
Churches preach morality, but shy away from confronting realities about sexuality in old age.
Policymakers roll out glossy frameworks, but forget that vulnerability does not vanish at 50.
This silence by relevant ministries and the government itself is dangerous and it is costing lives.
Zimbabwe cannot defeat HIV while leaving any group behind.
Our elders deserve better than ignorance dressed as wisdom.
They deserve the truth — and protection.
We must tell the truth loudly and clearly: HIV does not retire.
It does not care about wrinkles, grey hair or cultural shame.
Until campaigns openly target the elderly, until doctors make testing routine for all ages and until families break the taboo around discussing sex with older relatives, this crisis will grow.