While Zimbabwe celebrates a steady decline in its national HIV prevalence rate, a burgeoning health crisis in the country’s mining heartlands threatens to undo decades of progress.
New data released this week highlights a stark disparity between the national average and the "gold-rush" towns of Shurugwi, Kadoma, and Zvishavane, where prevalence rates remain nearly double the national figure.
According to the National AIDS Council (NAC) and recent updates from the Zimbabwe Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (ZIMPHIA 2024-2026), the national HIV prevalence has settled at approximately 11%.
However, in mining hubs, the numbers tell a more harrowing story, with Shurugwi recording a staggering 16.2%, followed closely by Hwange at 18.0%, Kadoma (15.5%), and Zvishavane (15.0%).
Speaking at a high-level stakeholder meeting in Harare, the Health and Child Care minister Douglas Mombeshora, expressed deep concern over the "localized epidemics" occurring in districts dominated by artisanal and small-scale miners (ASMs).
Mombeshora stated that the government is witnessing a trend where the economic vitality of the mining sectors is, unfortunately, accompanied by a spike in new infections.
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He noted that the high mobility of artisanal miners, coupled with "situational wealth" where large sums of cash are spent in informal settlements, creates a high-risk environment for transactional sex and low condom use.
NAC chief executive officer Bernard Madzima echoed these sentiments in a recent quarterly statistical bulletin. He noted that while the country has hit the "95-95-95" targets nationally, mining towns are lagging due to the transient nature of the workforce.
In response to the alarming statistics, the government and its partners have introduced a series of aggressive health programmes specifically tailored for the mining community.
Recognizing that miners spend daylight hours underground, the Ministry of Health has scaled up "Moonlight Testing" services.
These mobile units operate between 6pm and midnight in high-traffic areas like beerhalls and "shebeens" in Shurugwi and Zvishavane.
Furthermore, a new targeted health screening intervention has been introduced using the Peer-Officer Model.
According to a recent report by the Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV (ZNNP+), the programme uses former miners as peer officers to conduct workplace-based screenings, a move that has successfully reduced the "stigma barrier" that previously prevented male miners from seeking medical care.
Government has also intensified Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) campaigns in Kadoma and Chakari, targeting a 90% coverage rate among artisanal miners to provide a biological layer of protection against HIV transmission.
Additionally, the decentralization of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) has become a priority. A district AIDS coordinator in Zvishavane recently confirmed that health officials are no longer waiting for people to come to the clinic, instead, they are taking PrEP directly to the mineshafts and surrounding host communities to ensure maximum reach.
However, the rise in prevalence has also brought a spotlight on controversial labour practices. In February 2026, the Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers Union (ZDAMWU) took legal action against a gold mine in Famona for mandatory HIV testing, a practice that the union's general secretary Justice Chinhema recently described as "a flagrant breach of the Constitution". Mombeshora said emphasis should be on support and treatment rather than victimization and stigmatisation.
As the government moves to "ring-fence" health funding through the new National Health Insurance Scheme, health experts remain cautiously optimistic that these targeted interventions, supported by ZIMPHIA data and NAC monitoring, will eventually bring the mining town statistics in line with the rest of the nation to meet the 2030 goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat.