World AIDS Day: SA Reports Progress in HIV Treatment
SA highlights progress in tracing and retaining HIV patients
image: Internet
by Kelebogile Matlou
South Africa celebrates World AIDS Day on the 1st of December with a national ceremony led by Deputy President Paul Mashatile at Masemola Stadium in Limpopo’s Sekhukhune area. The purpose of the day is to raise HIV prevention awareness, assist people living with HIV, and remember those who have died as a result of HIV-related illnesses.
The National Health Department says its attempts to track down those who have tested positive for HIV and stopped taking medication have led to favorable results. This progress comes as the country observes World AIDS Day alongside the rest of the world. Gugu Shabangu, the department’s Chief Director for HIV and AIDS, says the goal remains to increase the number of patients who return to treatment and continue to take their medicine.
“Our goal was 1.1 million people, and we have successfully returned 949 023 of them thus far. We are now at 62% in this campaign. However, I must point out that we are simultaneously losing clients. Those we are losing are not from the same cohort, but it means that some of our clients are returning to our facilities while others are leaving,” Shabangu explained.
She says that the biggest problem is ensuring that patients who return to health facilities continue to receive care. “Our main challenge is to ensure that once we get all of them back, we retain them on treatment so that we can achieve our 95%,” she said.