SA a world leader in tackling HIV

WHILE the world was not going to reach the global HIV targets set for this year, South Africa came the closest to aligning its policies with international standards with 28.5 of the 33 policies adopted, the UN said.

Today marked World Aids Day, commemorated under the theme “We’re in this together – Cheka Impilo”, a clarion call to South Africans to make responsible health choices and know their health status, as South Africa continued to have the largest number of people living with HIV in the world, President Cyril Ramaphosa said.

The HIV Policy Lab, a collaboration among academics, the UN and civil society partners from around the world, yesterday published the first Global HIV policy report, looking at why laws and policies were not helping the world reach HIV targets for 2020.

Aligned to the global theme for World Aids Day: “Global Solidarity, Shared Responsibility”, these were policies the rest of the world could learn from, said Dr Matthew Kavanagh from Georgetown University in the US.

“Our report shows, for example, that only 34% of countries have adopted policies that make HIVprevention medicines for preexposure prophylaxis available to everyone at substantial risk.”

South Africa, experts found, had embraced many science-based policies on HIV treatment, on preexposure prophylaxis and on testing. There was, however, still work to be done in extending antiretroviral refills for HIV medicines as well as the fact that South Africa also still criminalised sex work, which undermined the fight against HIV, UNAids said.

The provincial Health Department officially opened a state-of-the-art men’s health centre at the Karl Bremer Hospital premises in Bellville yesterday in commemoration of World Aids Day.

The centre is open from 7am till 4pm, Monday to Friday. Call or send a Please Call Me to 079 530 2593, or SMS or use WhatsApp to send the word “HI” between 8am and 3.30pm from Monday to Friday.