Expert says 50% of  Harare’s new HIV/AIDS infections  is within the 15- 24 age group

By Health Reporter

 THE current generation in Harare, unfamiliar with the worst of the AIDS crisis, is now accounting for approximately half of the city’s new HIV infections.

Dr. Misheck Ruwende highlights this alarming statistic to prompt Zimbabwe to reassess its approach to combating HIV. Data indicates that individuals aged 15 to 24 make up around 50% of new infections. This comes despite decades of progress in reducing HIV from a near-certain death sentence to a manageable condition, alongside increasing preventive measures.

The situation points to a troubling contradiction. Young people today have access to more HIV prevention tools than ever before. Yet, they remain a major group affected by new infections in the capital.

Dr. Ruwende’s concern is not just about the prevalence of HIV among young people but also about their lack of firsthand experience with the epidemic their parents faced.

Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, HIV was visibly devastating. Families lost siblings, and many children were orphaned as the diagnosis was essentially a death sentence. However, Zimbabwe has since transformed its approach to dealing with HIV.

With expanded treatment and improved prevention methods, including PrEP and long-acting preventive measures, the impact of an HIV diagnosis has radically changed. Despite these advances—wherein those with HIV can prevent transmission through consistent treatment—questions remain about whether the perceived threat of HIV has diminished for the current generation.

Dr. Ruwende feels that more investigation is needed into this issue.

“We have condoms, effective HIV treatments, and PrEP,” he stresses. “Nevertheless, young people continue to be infected.”

The problem is particularly acute across Africa, where young women represent approximately 63% of new infections among 15-to-24-year-olds, and among adolescents aged 15 to 19, girls account for about 85% of those affected.

 This highlights a significant gender imbalance within the youngest groups impacted. Dr. Ruwende stresses that multiple factors need examination—substance use, peer pressure, risky sexual behavior, and low risk perception—to understand why infections persist despite better prevention options than those available in the past.

 Young people today face this epidemic not with limited tools but with a vast array of preventive measures at their disposal, yet the virus still manages to reach them. This does not necessarily mean that all young people are at high risk or that infection rates are uniformly rising.

 However, it does pinpoint a significant concentration of new infections among youth. For Ruwende, understanding why young people are acquiring HIV despite abundant prevention resources is essential for Zimbabwe’s next steps in fighting the epidemic.

The focus needs to shift towards why technological solutions aren’t reaching young people effectively, their risk perception, and the social dynamics exposing adolescent girls disproportionately.

 “It’s time for an honest conversation,” Ruwende insists. Because while the virus may not have disappeared, the fear that once surrounded it could very well have faded. In Harare, it seems the generation that did not witness the worst of AIDS is now heavily represented among those infected.