Ronnie Mutimusekwa

Leaflet (1991) produced by the Matabeleland AIDS Council

Ronnie Mutimusekwa (1955-1992) was the first AIDS activist in Zimbabwe, Africa.

Headlines

Ronnie Mutimusekwa (birthname Rogers Mutimusakwa) was a Zimbabwean citizen who made international headlines in 1989 when he publicly revealed that he, a heterosexual man, was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.^[1] His aim was to break the taboo surrounding AIDS, hoping that it would inspire others like him, as well as help in the prevention efforts.^[2] At the time it was wrongfully assumed that HIV/AIDS was a minor issue in Zimbabwe, confined to promiscuous homosexual men and female prostitutes.^[3]

Education

Mutimusekwa worked tirelessly to promote awareness of the disease, telling his story at schools, churches and beerhalls. He formed a support group for people suffering from AIDS, called Ihawu (Shield), of which he was chairman.^[4] Ihawu organized meetings in parks and factories where members tried to educate the public.^[5] Mutimusekwa received some funding from UNESCO and the Matabeleland AIDS Council to set up office in Bulawayo where he helped develop educational methods for AIDS prevention in rural areas, like community theatre. Mutimusekwa's story was also included in teaching materials abroad.^[6] Nearly all children in Zimbabwe are currently taught about HIV and AIDS in schools.

Changing Attitudes

The publicity surrounding Mutimusekwa’s confession set off a series of changes in the attitude towards HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe, along with the appointment of Dr Timothy Stamps as minister, who took over the Health portfolio in 1990, and the news of vice-president Nkomo’s son Ernest Thuthani having died of the disease in 1996.^[7] The spread of the disease peaked in 1997 when more than a quarter of the population was estimated to be infected, after which this figure gradually declined to about 15% in 2007.^[8]

Final Resting Place

Ronnie Mutimusekwa died on July 13, 1992 in Njube, a township of Bulawayo, and was buried in the village of Mutimusakwa in the Mhondoro area.

Other notable AIDS activists in Zimbabwe

• Auxillia Chimusoro (1956-1998): The first woman to publicly announce being HIV-positive, also in 1989.^[9] Chimusoro became actively involved in the anti-AIDS struggle in 1992 when she formed support groups Batanai and ZNNP+.^[10] An annual award by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is named after her.
• Eliot Magunje (1965-2003): Zimbabwean actor whose HIV-positive status was accidentally revealed in Zimbabwe by CNN.^[11] Magunje decided to make the best of the situation and became information, education and communications officer of The Centre, one of Zimbabwe's largest AIDS service organizations.^[12]
• Frenk Guni: Guni is a former coordinator of the ZNNP+ and a former executive board member for the National AIDS Council of Zimbabwe, living under political asylum in the United States since 2003.^[13]
• Sunanda Ray: Sunanda Ray is a British doctor who founded the Women Aids Support Network (WASN) in November 1989. Dr Ray has been instrumental in the formation of many AIDS support groups for women, in the education on AIDS prevention methods and the assessment of major risk factors from a scientific point of view.^[14][15] Dr Ray co-founded several other organizations of which SAfAIDS won the Auxillia Chimusoro Award in 2002.

References

1. Perlez, Jane (November 24, 1989) "Zimbabwe Resisting Facts In AIDS Epidemic". The New York Times.
2. Livingston, I.L. (1992). "AIDS/HIV crisis in developing countries: the need for greater understanding and innovative health promotion approaches". In: Journal of the National Medical Association, New York, Vol. 84, no. 9, p. 766.
3. Edlin, John (September 29, 1990) "Africans Are The Main Victims Of The Spread Of AIDS". Associated Press
4. Chronicle Reporter (July 14, 1992). "Ronnie Mutimusekwa dies". The Chronicle Zimbabwe. Chronicle website: http://www.chronicle.co.zw/
5. Meinen, Annemiek & Lammers, Bart (Februari 1991). "Geen Aids-preventie zonder emancipatie"(in Dutch). Tijdschrift voor Gezondheid en Politiek, Weert, Jaargang 9, Nr. 1, pag. 5.
6. The World Bank, Human Development Sector, Africa Region (June 2006). "Swaziland, Achieving Education For All". Working Paper Series No. 109.
7. Matambanadzo, Isabella (July 19, 1996). "ZIMBABWE-HEALTH: Breaking The Silence On AIDS". Inter Press Service.
8. Avert (2013), International HIV and AIDS Charity Organization, Horsham, UK.
9. UNAIDS (2004).2004 report on the global HIV/AIDS epidemic : 4th global report, p. 183. ISBN 92 9173 355 5
10. "The Journey of Auxilia Chimusoro and BHASO". Website of Batanai Hiv & Aids Service Organisation (2013)
11. Coen, Bob (Februari 8, 1996) "Zimbabwe grapples with crushing AIDS epidemic". CNN Zimbabwe web-post
12. Lynde, Francis (July 1999). "Chain Reactions: Poetic Justice", POZ Magazine, New York.
13. "AIDS, Politics and NGOs in Zimbabwe" by Jake Batsell, in: Patterson, Amy (2005), "The African State And The AIDS Crisis", Burlington USA, p. 68. ISBN 0 7546 3967 3
14. Ray S, Maposhere C. (1997). "Male and female condom use by sex workers in Zimbabwe: acceptability and obstacles, in: Beyond acceptability: user's perspectives on contraception, published by Reproductive Health Matters for the World Health Organisation, SUPPL. (pp 97-108), Geneva.
15. Ray, Sunanda et al (November, 1998) "Sexual behaviour and risk assessment of HIV seroconvertors among urban male factory workers in Zimbabwe". Social Science and Medicine, Vol. 47, issue 10, pp. 1431-1443.