The human rights of all people should be upheld and respected irrespective of whether or not they are carrying
the HIV virus. However, the rights of ‘people living with HIV/AIDS’ (abbreviated to PLWHA) deserve extra
consideration, because their human rights are more likely to be abused.
So it is very important that we focus on the Rights of people with HIV/AIDS, including the right to reproduce a family, for at present, the only guaranteed way to avoid becoming infected is to refuse all sexual intercourse and all blood transfusions.
Zimbabwe’s first case of HIV was documented in 1985. Today it is estimated that one in every four Zimbabweans between the ages of 15 and 49 years is infected with HIV. That is at least 1,8 million adults. More frightening estimates put the number at 1 in every 3 people.
These figures mean at least 25% of people in the reproductive age group are already infected with the HIV virus. Furthermore, by 1999 there were over 3 000 HIV/AIDS deaths each week. By 2005, 1,2 million deaths are expected to have occurred. Among the dead are three former cabinet ministers
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