Zimbabwe's urban evictions campaign, which the government has said is necessary to eradicate black market activity in urban shantytowns, might be compounding the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the country, according to a... report released on Sunday by Human Rights Watch, the AAP/Sydney Morning Herald reports (AAP/Sydney Morning Herald, 9/11). The government began the evictions in May and used bulldozers to demolish shops and homes. About 700,000 people were left homeless (Quinn, Reuters, 9/11). Many HIV-positive people have had to move to rural areas where there is little access to antiretroviral treatment, and "hundreds of people are now going to die," the report says (AAP/Sydney Morning Herald, 9/11). In addition, the National Blood Transfusion Service Zimbabwe said the demolitions also have led to a blood shortage in the country, as regular donors have moved away or are unreachable (BBC News, 9/11). Many people are reluctant to donate blood for fear they might learn they are HIV-positive. Zimbabwe's blood donation system is voluntary and is one of the few in Africa that screens donated blood for HIV, according to Xinhua News Agency (Mucharowana/Gao, Xinhua News Agency, 9/11). The country has just 650 units of blood available instead of the required 3,000 units (BBC News, 9/11). Meanwhile, a government official on Friday said that Zimbabwe's HIV/AIDS prevalence has fallen from 24% last year to 21% because of behavior change among the adult population (Xinhuanet/People's Daily Online, 9/11).
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