By Isaac Zulu
Over 56 commercial sex workers are earmarked to withdraw from sex work in Kapiri Mposhi District following their decision to apply for Constituency Development Fund (CDF).
The former sex workers have applied for empowerment grants under CDF to enable them venture into alternative Income Generating Activities (IGA) to sustain their livelihoods.
Kapiri Mposhi District HIV/AIDS Coordinating Advisor, Edwin Sakeyo disclosed the development saying most women engaged in sex work and transactional sex in the district are doing so because of lack of alternative sources of livelihoods.
Sakeyo however, said commercial sex work has continued to contribute to the high prevelence and new cases of HIV infections in the district.
“Commercial and transactional sex is one of the key drivers of new infections of HIV in Kapiri Mposhi, but we hope that the provision of alternative livelihoods for women and girls engaged in sex work will help in these issues and we want to commend government for CDF because it is touching lives in all spheres,” Sakeyo said.
During the Commemoration of the 2023 World AIDS Day, Sakeyo said so far four cooperatives, comprising former commercial sex workers have been mobilised and have successfully applied for empowerment grants under CDF.
“We are mobilising sex workers taking advantage of the good gesture by our government through CDF. We are encouraging them to apply for CDF. Right now we have mobilised about 56 sex workers who have made four clubs and their documentation to access CDF is in the process. They indicated that they want to leave sex work,” said Sakeyo.
And Kapiri Mposhi District Commissioner, Francis Hasalama has urged members of the public to take advantage of the various interventions aimed at preventing, testing and treating HIV in the district.
Hasalama said the Ministry of Health is offering innovative approaches such as the free testing and treatment of HIV adding that an injectable Pre-exposure Prophilaxis (PrEP) drug will soon be rolled out in the country to help reduce the number of new HIV infections and contribute to the goal of ending the transmission of HIV by 2030.
“The Ministry of Health and partners are offering extensive HIV interventions to anyone at risk of contracting the virus on a free of charge basis such as free condoms, testing and treatment and the new innovation of PrEP for free,” said Hasalama.
Meanwhile District Health Office clinical care officer, Oscar Mwenda disclosed that the district has continued to record new infections and a high positivity rate of HIV per capita.
Mwenda disclosed that out of 46,193 people who tested for HIV 1118 tested positive for the virus adding that currently 22,351 are currently on ART in the district.
He called for community initiatives and leadership in responding to HIV cases in the district, stressing that HIV programmes and initiatives will perform better when driven by impacted communities.
“As we move towards the elimination or control of the HIV pandemic by 2030 I urge everyone to commit our efforts and resources to this trend. Unfortunately we are recording new infections and at the rate we are moving we are unlikely to meet the target,” said Mwenda.
The 2023 World AIDS Day was held under the theme “Let communities lead.”
