By Draxon Maloya
The City of Mzuzu has been identified as a major contributor to the escalating prevalence and transmission of HIV, according to the Mzimba North District Health Office.
Hotspot areas including Zolozolo, Masasa, and Mzuzu University (MZUNI) continue to record alarming rates of HIV transmission, raising concern among health officials and community advocates.
This was disclosed in on Monday during the launch of a new project by Community Health Rights Advocacy (CHeRA), an organization focused on marginalized populations. The initiative seeks to enhance the capacity of vulnerable groups to lead healthy lives through active citizenship.
District Medical Officer for Mzimba North, Dr. Shadreck Mzuma Ngwira, described the situation as deeply troubling.
“We still have gaps in training service providers in PrEP, which is a preventive treatment for high-risk populations. Zolozolo, MZUNI, and Mzuzu Urban Health Centre are registering alarming figures,” said Dr. Mzuma Ngwira.
He emphasized that these hotspots host a high concentration of key population groups who face greater risk of contracting HIV compared to the general population.
CHeRA Programmes Manager, Alex Dalitso Kaomba, lamented Malawi’s continued struggle with high HIV prevalence among key populations, including men who have sex with men (12.9%), female sex workers (49.9%), transgender people, and people who use drugs.
“Prevention efforts remain underfunded and hindered by stigma, criminalization, and health system gaps. The project aims to bridge these gaps by strengthening key population-led advocacy and accountability to ensure equitable, stigma-free access to LA-PrEP (Cab-LA) and future prevention tools such as Lenacapavir,” Kaomba explained.
Kaomba further noted that the choice of project implementation areas was guided by the Malawi National Strategic Plan for HIV and AIDS (2020–2025), which identifies Mzimba North as one of six high-burden districts prioritized for intensified interventions targeting key populations.
During commemoration of the World Aids Day, the Mzuzu City Council pledged to take significant steps aimed at combat HIV/AIDS, aligning its efforts with the global 95-95-95 targets aimed at ending the pandemic by 2030.
The project, which also covers Blantyre, Lilongwe, Mangochi, and Mzimba North, is funded by FH1360 and targets a cohort of 500 key populations on antiretroviral therapy, forms part of the global campaign “Powerful Prevention”, supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to the tune of MK66,690,000.
