Spatial Heterogeneity Association of HIV Incidence with Socio-economic Factors in Zimbabwe

This study examined the spatial heterogeneity association of HIV incidence and socio-economic factors including poverty severity index,permanently employed females and males,unemployed females,percentage of poor households i.e.,poverty prevalence,night lights index,literacy rate,household food security,and Gini index at district level in Zimbabwe.A mix of spatial analysis methods including Poisson model based on original log likelihood ratios(LLR),global Moran’s I,local indicator of spatial association-LISA were employed to determine the HIV hotspots.Geographically Weighted Poisson Regression(GWPR)and semi-parametric GWPR(s-GWPR)were used to determine the spatial association between HIV incidence and socio-economic factors.HIV incidence(number of cases per 1000)ranged from 0.6(Buhera district)to 13.30(Mangwe district).Spatial clustering of HIV incidence was observed(Global Moran’s I=-0.150;Z score 3.038;p-value 0.002).Significant clusters of HIV were observed at district level.HIV incidence and its association with socio-economic factors varied across the districts except percentage of females unemployed.Intervention programmes to reduce HIV incidence should address the identified socio-economic factors at district level.

Systems Analysis of Vulnerability to Hydrometeorological Threats: An Exploratory Study of Vulnerability Drivers in Northern Zimbabwe

Disasters result from complex interactions of hazards and vulnerability conditions. Reducing human exposure and sensitivity to threats can reduce disaster impact. Prior knowledge about community vulnerability levels is crucial to minimizing potential losses from future threats. Most vulnerability studies focus on high-impact disasters and their temporal and spatial analyses. Yet highfrequency, low-impact disasters have a cumulative potential to severely disrupt or damage socioeconomic systems.There is limited knowledge especially in the global south about the creation of vulnerability to hydrometeorological threats. Using a systems approach, this study explores ways in which communities in the northern semiarid tropics of Zimbabwe are vulnerable to hydrometeorological threats.This predominantly qualitative study used literature review, interviews, transect walks, and focus groups to gather data from selected samples involving smallholder farmers with in-depth knowledge about community vulnerability. The results show that the communities are vulnerable to multiple hydrometeorological threats due to multiple interacting factors including rainfed and floodbased farming, land tenure, topography, climate, and other socioeconomic conditions such as inadequate income sources and high poverty. In order to reduce vulnerability,this study provides five policy options for government and nongovernmental organization interventions, including the need to transform rural economies beyond the traditional rainfed and flood-based farming systems.

Taking Children’s Voices in Disaster Risk Reduction a Step Forward

Disaster risk reduction(DRR) continues to gain momentum globally and locally, but there is a notable void in the DRR literature on the role of children in communitylevel disaster risk management in Zimbabwe. Children are among the most vulnerable groups when disasters occur,yet their voices in disaster risk reduction are rarely heard.Using a qualitative methodology, this article examines the extent to which children are involved in disaster risk reduction in Muzarabani District, Zimbabwe. Despite evidence of the potential positive impact that children can have on DRR, their involvement in risk reduction planning in Zimbabwe is negligible. To achieve greater resilience to disasters requires that children’s voices are heard and recognized as central to improved disaster risk reduction.