Matabeleland AIDS Council

Improving healthcare access, food and income security for elderly women, caregivers and children living with HIV.

Matabeleland AIDS Council (MAC), work in Zimbabwe's Matabeleland North and South provinces which have the highest HIV prevalence rates in Zimbabwe - at 18.5% and 15.2% respectively, in people aged 15 and over. As a result, many parents and caregivers across the district have succumbed to AIDS-related illnesses, leaving many vulnerable children in the care of already struggling relatives.

MAC's Egmont-supported project seeks to improve the quality of life for elderly women, caregivers, children and young people living with HIV across six villages in Matabeleland South's Matobo District where there is limited access to health care, many households are food insecure and unemployment is high.

To address these challenges, the project is running mobile health clinics and outreach events to bring a range of general and sexual and reproductive health services to remote communities as well as promoting treatment adherence among people with HIV by convening quarterly meetings for support groups.

Caregivers and elderly people are being trained in alternative livelihoods including beadwork and detergent-making to boost their incomes and food security, leading to better health. Local early childhood development centres are being supported to establish nutrition gardens to provide food for the children that attend and the project will provide meals for two years while the gardens are established.