By Ireen Mseteka

Likoma, March 20, Mana: Principal Nutrition, HIV and AIDS Officer for Likoma, Yamikani Makondi, says HIV prevalence rate for the district has risen from 7.3 percent last year to 7.6 percent this year, describing is as alarming. 

Speaking during an HIV stakeholders’ meeting in the district on Wednesday, Makondi said Likoma District has become the second highest in the northern region after Mzuzu City which has 9.7 percent HIV prevalence rate.

He said the stakeholders’ meeting was organized to come up with solutions to reverse the trend.

“Some of the factors contributing to high prevalence rate in the district include influx of commercial sex workers and tendency by fish mongers to stay long in fishing areas, leaving their families behind and engaging themselves in sexual acts,” Makondi said.

Makondi said the stakeholders had come up with various interventions to help in reversing the situation, such as engaging fisheries associations, faith based organizations, and community based organizations and youth networks in upscaling condom distribution, among others.

Public Relations Officer for National AIDS Commission (NAC), Karen Msiska, said Likoma, being an island district, has a buzz of activities that involves people from different places that visit for a number of reasons, including tourism.

“As these people intermingle, they share some behaviours, some of which are drivers for HIV transmission. We target such areas with interventions that focus on both prevention and treatment, including condom programming as well as social and behaviour change communication programmes,” Msiska said.

He advised people to use combined HIV prevention interventions, such as condom use, voluntary medical male circumcision, early diagnosis and treatment for sexual transmitted infections and use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP).