Deloune Matongo

Deloune is a public health programmer, researcher and SRHR youth advocate, who recently served as the Assistant National Youth, VMMC and Condom Coordinator under the National AIDS Council of Zimbabwe. During the same period, he was Secretariat to the National Young People’s Network on SRH, HIV and AIDS, a consortium of all the youth-serving organizations in the national response to HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe. Deloune has been an Executive Committee member of the Health Promotion Association of Zimbabwe (HEPAZ) since 2015 and a member of the National ASRH Coordination Forum of the Ministry of Health and Child Care. In 2017, he published two public health research papers.

Advocacy Accomplishments for the Year
Deloune created demand for PrEP while fostering a supportive environment for LGBTQ HIV prevention programming at the national level. His accomplishments include the development of Zimbabwe’s first National Key Population Implementation Plan, which increased the number of KP-receptive services to 24 from 6; the development of the Key Populations Manual for Healthcare Providers, which was drafted together with the KP Minimum Service Package; and he influenced the ministry of health to implement the country’s first MSM size estimation.

In His Own Words
“When the fellowship project commenced, I did not believe I had the capacity to influence government at high level and persuade them to consider my suggestions. I, however, learnt that there is power in diplomacy when it comes to advocacy. Most of my achievements were as a result of diplomatic engagements with the powers that be.”

Materials

• KP Friendly Public Health Services in Zimbabwe
• Creating Supportive Environment For Enhanced KP HIV Prevention Programming And Increased Access To HIV Prevention Services for LGBTI+ People
• Zimbabwe’s National Key Populations HIV and AIDS Implementation Plan 2019-2020
• Key Populations Manual for Healthcare Providers