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Assessing the drug scene in Zimbabwe

Mainline have been asked to assess the drug scene in five provinces in Zimbabwe. A team of three researchers worked in close collaboration with the Zimbabwe Civil Liberties Drug Network throughout 2022. The goal: to gain an insight into which drugs are commonly used and to recommend health interventions.

Key objectives

The key objective of our collaboration was to conduct a situational analysis of drug use and drug injection. The assessment focuses on five provinces in Zimbabwe and will be used to inform HIV and TB programming for people who use or inject drugs.

A Mainline research team of three members:

Identified patterns of drug use and injection in Zimbabwe;
Assessed the level of knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of risk and vulnerability to HIV and tuberculosis among people who use drugs;
Determined barriers and facilitators of uptake of HIV and tuberculosis services among people who use drugs;
Documented existing harm reduction and drug treatment services and gaps in the national HIV and tuberculosis response for people who use drugs;
Developed an implementation plan/ road map to mitigate against HIV and tuberculosis for people who use drugs, including technical capacity needs and service gaps.

Global Fund meets UNAIDS

This project was part of the Global Fund’s Community, Rights and Gender strategic initiative and was co-funded by UNAIDS. Through the Global Fund initiative, community organisations across the world can apply for technical assistance.