Drug use remains a challenge in Zim

Zim Now Writer

Drug use continues to grow throughout Zimbabwe, particularly among people who are vulnerable to or who have already been diagnosed with HIV.

In many instances, people who use drugs who are living with HIV acquired the virus not through intravenous drug use, but through condom less sex.

Though antiretroviral therapy allows people living with HIV to repress the virus and live healthy lives without worrying about transmission, habitual drug use has created numerous health issues, including dependencies that lead to treatment interruption or reduce treatment effectiveness.

Though Zimbabwe does not collect official data on drug use, in 2020, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime found that rising unemployment during the pandemic “likely” made those with the fewest resources more vulnerable to drug use as well as trafficking and cultivation to earn money.

In 2022, Unicef noted that the pandemic’s strain on the mental health of young Zimbabweans contributed to an increase in drug use and sexual activity without using harm reduction methods such as condoms or pre-exposure prophylaxis.