The Eastern Cape AIDS Council (ECAC) and the provincial Department of Health have an ambitious HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) target: to test one million people in nine months. While the province’s HCT campaign is not new, it is being revived with a new approach and a new tagline, to drive the province’s HIV prevention strategy and to reach the Provincial Strategic Plan goals of a 50 per cent reduction in new HIV, TB and STI infections by 2016.
The new tagline “Ithini into yakho – do you know your status?” embodies a comprehensive message. It relates to a person’s individual knowledge of his/her HIV status as an entry point to HIV prevention. It also encourages behaviour change as it refers to the use of condoms and adherence to treatment.
Speaking at the launch of the campaign at the Volkswagen SA Uitenhage plant, MEC for Health in the Eastern Cape, Pumza Dyantyi, emphasised the need for one to know their status. “The greatest risk for the province in the prevention of HIV is the person who does not know their HIV status. This is because the person is highly infectious in their first six weeks of contracting HIV,” she said. The Actuarial Society of South Africa HIV/AIDS estimates that approximately 736 404 people are HIV positive in the Eastern Cape Province (ASSA model). But the low numbers of people testing for HIV is derailing progress for the province to meet HIV targets as outlined in the Provincial Strategic Plan for HIV, STIs and TB (2012–2016).
Through this relaunched campaign, the province seeks to test one million people in the Eastern Cape within a period of nine months and initiate 90 per cent of those with a CD4 cell count below 500 on antiretroviral treatment. A plan is underway to strengthen adherence clubs to ensure that patients adhere to their treatment.
EC“The greatest risk for the province in the prevention of HIV is the person who does not KNOW their HIV status. This is because the person is highly infectious in their first six weeks of contracting HIV.”
Pumza Dyantyi
MEC for Health in the Eastern Cape
The new campaign will also focus more on populations HCT has failed to reach, particularly men. “Getting men to test has been one of our struggles. Thus it is encouraging to see the leadership from the male-dominated companies and sectors, including union leaders, publicly endorse the campaign and make commitments with regards to activations within their workforce,” said ECAC’s Head of Secretariat Vuyisa Dayile.
To help keep them on track, a “thermometer chart” will be used to monitor the progress of the business sector in the campaign. Arnelle Heynes, Business Sector leader for the Eastern Cape and chairperson of the employee wellness task team in the Nelson Mandela Business Chamber, is confident that the new approach will be successful. “As business we have already made positive strides with regards to testing of employees, and we feel this new partnership between government and business will take our efforts even further.”
The campaign has spread to other sectors which include sex workers, traditional leadership, youth and transport and construction sectors.