Ethiopia: HIV infections soar in post-war Tigray
Tigray was once considered a model in the fight against HIV. Years of awareness-raising efforts had brought the region’s HIV prevalence rate to 1.4%, one of the lowest in Ethiopia.
Then, in 2020, war began between Ethiopia’s government, backed by neighboring Eritrea, and Tigray fighters.
Now, the average monthly positive rate has “increased considerably”, said Akberet Mengesha, the Anti-retroviral therapy Department Coordinator at the Ayder Refferal Hospital in Mekele, Tigray region.
Sexual violence was widespread in the two-year conflict, which also had mass killings, hunger and disease. As many as 10% of women and girls aged between 15 and 49 in the region of 6 million people were subject to sexual abuse, mostly rape and gang rape, according to a study published by BMJ Global Health in 2023.
At the same time, Tigray’s health system was systematically looted and destroyed, leaving only 17% of health centers functional, according to another study in the same journal.
According to a report done by the Tigray Regional Health Bureau in conjunction with the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation, 86% of health facilities in the region were “partially damaged”, and 3% were “completely damaged.” As a result, 90% of sexual violence survivors did not get timely medical support.
“Additionally, the risk of mother-to-child transmission, which had previously been declined to zero, has changed dramatically,” said Mengesha, adding that the rise in diagnosis in children under two was “a direct result of interrupted access to crucial medications during the conflict.”
At the Ayder Refferal Hospital in Mekele, Tigray region, patients lined up to receive Anti-retroviral therapy medicines.
The Ayder Hospital Pharmacy Head Teame Aregay affirmed “the patient count is climbing, with new diagnoses reported every day.”
Today the HIV prevalence rate in Tigray is 3%, more than double the prewar average, according to local health authorities and the United Nations. The rate among the region’s roughly 1 million displaced people is 5.5%. Among sexual violence survivors, it is 8.6%.
Few condoms were available during the war, which saw Tigray cut off from the rest of Ethiopia. Today, some destitute displaced people engage in sex work to survive, another factor that health workers believe is contributing to the spike in HIV cases.
The Trump administration’s decision to kill 83% of U.S. Agency for International Development programs globally is worsening the situation.
“Unfortunately, there is still a shortage of essential medications to address this growing crisis,” said Aregay.
Ethiopia has already laid off 5,000 health workers who were hired with U.S. funds to combat HIV. Meanwhile, charities helping HIV patients receive treatment have received stop-work orders.
They include the Organization for Social Services, Health and Development, a national agency whose Tigray branch was testing people for HIV and giving HIV patients food and financial support.
By Africanews
