Zimbabwe's rate of HIV/AIDS infection is declining due to behavior change among the adult population, a government official said on Friday.

Health and Child Welfare Minister David Parirenyatwa said the number of people infected by the AIDS pandemic now stands at 21 percent, down from 24 percent last year.

"The number of people living with the virus is now 21 per every hundred people as compared to the previous figure of 24 per every hundred people," he said.

The minister stressed the need for married couples to be faithful to each other and the young people to practice abstinence until marriage as a way of combating the disease.

He also said that the government was battling to reduce the infant mortality rate from the current 75 per 1000 children.

He revealed that the government intended to provide free maternity care for all mothers in the country so that the local health delivery system was in line with the Millennium Development Goals.

Source: Xinhua