Swaziland Newsletter No. 880 – 6 June
2025
News from and about Swaziland, compiled by
Global Aktion, Denmark (www.globalaktion.dk)
in collaboration with Swazi Media Commentary (www.swazimedia.blogspot.com),
and sent to all with an interest in Swaziland - free of charge. The newsletter
and past editions are also available online on the Swazi Media Commentary
blogsite
eSwatini
faces surge in violence
By
Sebentile Shongwe, Times of eSwatini, Press Reader edition, 2 June 2025
MBABANE: Eswatini faces a surge in both
violence against children and gender-based violence (GBV).
Calls for GBV and violence against
children to be declared a national disaster are growing, prompting the
question: How will this declaration lead to solutions? The Kingdom of Eswatini
is in the throes of a deeply alarming crisis, marked by an unprecedented surge
in violence, with devastating consequences for its populace, most acutely its
children and women.
Recent statistics paint a harrowing
picture: In just the first five months of 2025, a staggering 312 children have
been murdered, an equal number raped, 20 sexually assaulted and 67 subjected to
domestic abuse.
These figures, reported by this
publication, underscore a disturbing trend of increased disappearances, rapes
and brutal killings of young girls and women across the nation.
The Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS)
further corroborates this grim reality, having recorded 546 cases of GBV
against women between January and May of the current year.
This period also saw 89 cases against
children under five, 103 against those aged 6-11 and another 103 against
children aged 12-17, alongside 260 cases affecting adults.
Delving deeper, the REPS National
Surveillance Report for 2024 reveals an overwhelming 14 908 reported GBV cases,
with 1 365 involving children under 18 and a significant majority of 9 690
cases perpetrated against women.
In the face of such a dire situation, a
chorus of voices from leading civil society organisations has risen,
unequivocally urging the Government of Eswatini to declare gender-based
violence a national disaster.
Lwandzisile Maseko, Communications and
Advocacy Officer for the Swatini Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA) asserts
that such a declaration is far more than a symbolic gesture; it represents a
critical and necessary step towards acknowledging the profound severity of the
crisis gripping the nation.
By formally declaring GBV a national
disaster, government would establish the vital legal and policy frameworks
required to activate emergency response mechanisms.
This foundational shift would enable the
dedicated allocation of resources and foster a truly multi-sectoral approach
specifically aimed at combating violence, with a particular and urgent focus on
protecting women and children, who are disproportionately affected.
The ripple effects of such a declaration,
as envisioned by SWAGAA, are extensive and transformative. Firstly, it would
immediately elevate GBV prevention and response to the highest echelons of
governmental priority, ensuring that this critical issue receives the attention
and urgency it demands.
Secondly, it would significantly enhance
coordination among the myriad stakeholders involved, including law enforcement,
social services, healthcare providers, educational institutions and civil
society organisations.
To
read more of this report, click here
https://www.pressreader.com/eswatini/times-of-eswatini/20250602/281659670977373
Youth voices improve access to sexual and
reproductive health services in eSwatini
UNICEF, eSwatini, 30 May
2025
The high incidence of HIV among
adolescents and youth—particularly girls—in Eswatini highlights the urgent need
for continuous monitoring and improvement of sexual and reproductive health
(SRH) services. These services must be accessible, stigma-free, and of high
quality. However, only 48% of health facilities in Eswatini offer
youth-friendly SRH services, restricting young people’s access to critical
information and care.
In response, UNICEF Eswatini is supporting
the implementation of a social accountability feedback platform that
empowers young people to directly influence the enhancement of youth-friendly
health services, particularly regarding their sexual and reproductive health
rights.
The platform provides real-time reporting
via a mobile application, enabling clients to share their experiences and
suggest improvements. The system analyzes feedback data and channels
recommendations to service providers for quality assurance and service
improvement. When young people visit health facilities, they are guided to
youth-friendly corners where they are introduced to the app and encouraged to
provide feedback on their care experience.
“The platform has the potential to be
scaled up to all health facilities in Eswatini. It’s already showing positive
results in improving the quality of healthcare services and ensuring equitable
access for young people. Most importantly, youth are leading the
process—telling us what needs to change for them to feel comfortable using
these services,” said Dr. Thuli Mdluli, UNICEF HIV Specialist.
To
read more of this report, click here
See
also
Assessing
Gender and Age Sensitivity in eSwatini’s Social Assistance System
‘Who will protect our young people?’
UNAIDS,
2 June 2025
Noncedo Khumalo grew up in a country with
one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world, Eswatini—a country
landlocked between South Africa and Mozambique. The 24-year-old has
overcome her fair share of difficult times to make ends meet. The recent US
funding cuts have now put her future in question.
“Young girls go for older men because when
you finish high school and you want to pursue university, it becomes so hard
for us, (economically) so many take a short cut,” she said.
This was how many of her friends acquired
HIV. They had little awareness of HIV or how to protect themselves, she
explained. She said that condom use was low and there were many myths about HIV
including that it is a curse, only affecting some families.
Gender-based violence and sexual assault
increase the risk of HIV infection. “In some cases, the abuser is a family
member who is a bread winner, so women don’t report it,” said Ms Khumalo.
Dr Nondumiso Ncube, Executive Director of
Eswatini’s National Emergency Response Council on HIV/AIDS, says that while the
country has managed to consistently reduce new HIV infections, new HIV
infections remain stubbornly high amongst the younger population, particularly
adolescent girls and young women who are three to five times more likely to be
infected than their male counterparts. As a result, Dr Ncube says young women
and girls are at the centre of the country’s new HIV strategy.
Ms Khumalo was determined not to be one of
these statistics. Every day she walked almost six kilometres to attend school.
She got a diploma in social work and became involved with Young Heroes, a
local community organization, supported by the United States President’s
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) three years ago.
Through this initiative, Ms Khumalo
provided peer counselling to adolescents and young women about how to prevent
HIV and about broader sexual and reproductive health. She visited schools and
communities, offering information and support to help young people protect
themselves against HIV.
Around 60% of Eswatini’s HIV response was
funded by PEPFAR,
however, in January the US cut all funding for HIV and issued a stop-work order
for Young Heroes, forcing them to scale back their services. Ms.
Khumalo lost her job.
Now unemployed and unable to reach the
vulnerable young people she once served, Ms Khumalo fears for the safety of
young women and girls in her community, where transactional sex between older
men and young women, often motivated by poverty, and sexual and gender-based
violence remain widespread. “I’m scared for the future of young people,” she
said. “Without these HIV programmes, who will protect them?”
Nosipho Sacolo, a young woman living near
the capital city of Mbabane expressed her fears. “After managing to stay
free from HIV for so many years, we no longer have the services to protect
us.”
UNAIDS Country Director for Eswatini, Nuha
Ceesay says HIV prevention services—many of which are now closed—have been a
game changer in Eswatini.
“Eswatini has made huge progress in
preventing new HIV infections, with new infections falling by 73% since 2010,”
he said.
The country still has some challenges,
according to him. More than 1300 young women and adolescent girls are infected
every year. And nearly twice the number of women are living with HIV compared
to men.
UNAIDS and partners are concerned that the
abrupt halt to PEPFAR supported HIV prevention programmes could reverse the
gains that have been made.
A local network of non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) working to ensure access to primary health care for people
in Eswatini—including populations at high risk of HIV infection—CANGO, says the
PEPFAR pause could have dire consequences for the country's HIV response,
including a rise in new infections among young women and girls. "85 000
people were benefiting from the support, (now) all the people who were working
in the sector, who were supporting our people living with HIV, are now sitting
at home," said CANGO Executive Director, Thembinkosi Dlamini.
With PEPFAR’s support Eswatini had managed
to ensure 93% of people living with HIV were on lifesaving antiretroviral
treatment. This is one of Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Health,
Khanyakwezwe Mabuza’s main concerns. “Treatment is not something you can skip,”
he said. “We have to make sure that people continue to get their life-saving
treatment.”
Meanwhile, Ms Khumalo is still hoping that
the government and partners will not abandon the peer outreach workshops. Her
livelihood and countless others depends on it as do the people they are helping
to stay free from HIV.
HPV vaccination in eSwatini: a
critical step towards curbing cervical cancer
WHO
eSwatini, 29 May 2025
The Kingdom of Eswatini is making notable
strides in its fight against cervical cancer through the successful
implementation of a nationwide Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination program.
Launched in June 2023, the initiative targets girls aged 9 to 14 years, aiming
to reduce the incidence of cervical cancer, a leading cause of cancer-related
deaths among women in the country.
HPV is a virus that causes cancers, of the
reproductive system, including cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is the leading
cancer among women ages 15‒49 years in Eswatini, fueled by the high numbers of
HIV cases. Eswatini records approximately 360 cases of cervical cancer each
year and 27% of these cases result in death. Currently, a total of 2129 women
are living with cancer in the Kingdom. In the last five years, 771 women have
died due to cancer-related illness.
The introduction of the HPV vaccination
received tremendous support from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and
Immunization (GAVI) through WHO, UNICEF and the Clinton Health Access
Initiative (CHAI). The partnership with GAVI was instrumental in supporting the
rollout of the HPV vaccination program. The support from GAVI encompasses
capacity building within the healthcare system, ensuring that health workers
are trained to administer vaccines and engage with communities. This
collaborative effort has resulted in improved healthcare infrastructure, which
is essential for the sustainability of vaccination efforts.
To
read more of this report, click here
eSwatini celebrates reaching over
5,000 children during African Vaccination Week
WHO
eSwatini, 28 May 2025
MBABANE: To cultivate a healthy and
productive population, the Kingdom of Eswatini successfully conducted a
nationwide vaccination catch-up campaign as part of the 2025 African
Vaccination Week (AVW) commemoration.
The campaign, conducted from 5-9 May 2025,
reached 5,181 children with essential vaccines, a major milestone in the
country’s ongoing efforts to close immunization gaps and protect against
preventable diseases. Led by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with WHO,
UNICEF, and other partners, the nationwide campaign expanded beyond the usual
target group of children under five years to include girls aged 9–20 for the
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. This marked a groundbreaking step for
Eswatini, making it the first country in the African region to vaccinate girls
up to age 20 against HPV, while many others are only beginning to extend
eligibility to 18. A total of 238 girls received the HPV vaccine during the
5-day campaign.
Nosimilo Dlamini, a mother of three
children under five expressed her appreciation to the Ministry of Health for
the outreach services.
“All my children were vaccinated at this
site and all three are now up to date. I make sure that they stay protected
from diseases by taking advantage of free vaccination services. As a
result, they are rarely sick and do not miss school because of sickness,” she
said during the launch of the AVW at Bhadlane under Lubulini Inkhundla.
The campaign offered a wide range of
critical vaccines, reinforcing Eswatini’s routine immunization programme.
Children received BCG for tuberculosis, bOPV and IPV for polio, DT and DTP for
diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis, HepB-Hib for Hepatitis B and Haemophilus
influenzae type b, MR for measles and rubella, and PCV 1 for pneumonia. The
Rotarix vaccine protected against rotavirus, a common cause of severe diarrhea,
and TD boosters were given where needed. Vitamin A supplements and Albendazole
were also administered to strengthen immunity and support deworming.
To
read more of this report, click here
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