Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. The control of sexually transmitted diseases STDs through rapid and effective treatment is critical in reducing the transmission of HIV infection. In total 93 FGDs were held of which 76 Asked which health facility they would attend if they had an STD, all the different groups of the population mentioned a local clinic except for sex workers who preferred a hospital or a traditional practitioner, and male factory workers who preferred a factory clinic.
Although accessibility and affordability were the common factors mentioned by all the groups, it is important to consider group specific factors in the choice of health care facilities. The prevalence of the human immunodeficiency virus HIV is highest in southern Africa. Zimbabwe is one of the worst affected countries in the region and the world over.
By the end of about a quarter In spite of this high prevalence rate, the transmission of HIV continues at an alarming rate. In Zimbabwe, HIV infection is mainly transmitted heterosexually. Some sexually transmitted diseases STDs , such as genital ulcer disease, facilitate the acquisition and transmission of HIV 2 — 6. STD services in Zimbabwe are available in both the formal public and private sectors.
In the formal public sector, services are available at all primary health care and reproductive health facilities, including primary care clinics, maternal and child health care centres, family planning clinics and antenatal and postnatal clinics. STD care services are also available at the outpatient department of the district, provincial and central hospitals and at the categorical STD clinics in Harare and Bulawayo. In the private sector all registered doctors are able to treat persons with STDs.
Persons with STDs may also seek care in the informal sector. They may be able to access antibiotics and other drugs from friends, market places and from drug peddlers.
