AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s Community Power Voices Initiative Unveils Bold 2025 Plan to Tackle Stigma and Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission in Mutare

By Evans Jona

MUTARE — The AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s (AHF) Community Power Voices (CPV) initiative has announced an ambitious 2025 plan aimed at combating stigma, eliminating mother-to-child HIV transmission, and strengthening patient rights advocacy in Mutare and surrounding communities.

Launched in Mutare last year, the Community Power Voices programme was established to advocate for patient rights, promote community engagement, enhance health literacy, and hold healthcare providers accountable for improved service delivery. The pilot initiative, which complements the Government’s National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) and Vision 2030, was inspired by successful community-led health advocacy models in other African countries and Latin America.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Programmes Manager Clever Taderera outlined the organisation’s strategic priorities for 2025, with a strong focus on reducing the Stigma Index Rate and preventing HIV transmission from mothers to infants.

“In 2025, we are prioritising the reduction of the Stigma Index Rate through sensitisation meetings and community dialogues, advocating for increased condom funding, and strengthening engagements between patients and healthcare providers to address retention challenges,” Taderera told Post On Sunday in an exclusive interview.

A major target for the year is to lower the mother-to-child HIV transmission rate to below five percent. This will be driven through an intensified Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) programme, index testing, and a widespread ‘Know Your Status’ education campaign aimed at encouraging HIV testing and awareness.

The initiative also seeks to tackle the persistently high Stigma Index Rate, currently at 67.9%, by expanding community dialogue sessions and sensitisation campaigns designed to foster more inclusive, stigma-free environments for people living with HIV (PLHIV).

Building on the momentum from its inaugural year, CPV has strengthened its operational model by embedding community members within its core leadership team. According to Taderera, this inclusive approach has made it easier to identify pressing health challenges and collaboratively develop practical, community-tailored solutions.

“This inclusion has enabled us to pinpoint the most urgent issues within our communities and work together towards lasting solutions,” he said.

Key challenges CPV aims to confront in 2025 include persistent stigma and discrimination against PLHIV, gaps in condom availability, and barriers to patient retention in care. Strengthening community structures to support HIV care linkage and retention services remains a core focus of the programme.

Among the new interventions being rolled out this year are sensitisation programmes within government-supported hospitals, designed to promote patient rights and improve the relationship between healthcare workers and community members. “We are creating a vital link between the community and duty bearers by engaging hospitals and sensitising them on upholding the rights of patients,” added Taderera.

Additionally, CPV is forging and strengthening partnerships at local, regional, and international levels to bolster its advocacy and service delivery goals. The initiative is placing particular emphasis on ensuring inclusivity by actively involving marginalised and hard-to-reach populations in its programmes through targeted outreach activities and community dialogue sessions.

To monitor progress, CPV will track key indicators including reductions in the Stigma Index Rate and mother-to-child HIV transmission rates, improvements in condom accessibility, and patient retention outcomes.

Since its launch, Community Power Voices has been at the forefront of promoting health rights awareness in Mutare, equipping dedicated community advocates with the skills and resources to engage directly with both patients and healthcare providers. The programme draws inspiration from similar AHF-supported initiatives in countries such as Nigeria and across Latin America, where community-led advocacy has led to measurable improvements in healthcare service delivery.

Long-term, AHF envisions scaling the programme nationwide to amplify patient voices and promote accountability in the healthcare system.

“With the momentum we’ve built in Mutare, and with committed community partners, we believe the CPV initiative can be a game-changer in transforming healthcare advocacy and improving health outcomes across Zimbabwe,” Taderera said.

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