SANAC News sat down with SANAC CEO, Dr Fareed Abdullah, to discuss SANAC’s priorities and objectives for 2015.
HIV prevention
The Human Sciences Research Council’s (HSRC) National Household Survey for 2014 revealed an unacceptably high rate of new HIV infections –
469 000 in 2012 – prompting the need for an urgent focus on HIV prevention and improving public information and awareness. South Africa needs a structured social and behaviour change campaign, not just in the media, but at community and individual levels as well. Prevention is what will drive the work that needs to be done in 2015 and will be centred along three lines:
- Social and behaviour change to reduce HIV infection in young women.
- Promotion of condom use, and increase in condom supply and distribution.
- Addressing key populations: A process is underway to extend the national strategy for sex workers, to men who have sex with men and injecting drug users.
With funds from the Global Fund, SANAC has launched a campaign for prisoners and mine workers. Every prisoner in South Africa – 150 000 prisoners in 240 facilities – can now be reached with HIV and TB screening and referral.
Curbing HIV incidence – what works best?
The Thembisa model, an integrated demographic and epidemiological model of the South African HIV epidemic, was developed by Leigh Johnson at the University of Cape Town’s Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Research. The model reveals that despite efforts to expand eligibility criteria or increase the number of people on treatment, the single most effective intervention to reduce incidence is to reduce the infectiousness of those already on antiretroviral therapy by ensuring that those on treatment stay on it, and that programmes are available to retain them in care. It is significant that this was made evident in a systematic, academic modelling exercise in that it extends beyond mere speculation.
“We are doing well, but we’ve got so much more to do!”
Further obligations
In July this year, SANAC is due to submit a concept note to the Global Fund. More than 200 people are involved in analysing data in order to determine priority areas, and evaluate programmes currently underway. Once this is done, the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) will choose further issues to be given priority in the concept note. If approved by the technical review panel and the Global Fund, the concept note will secure funding of about USD 200 million over a three-year period.
One of SANAC’s core functions is management of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E). SANAC now has M&E officers in each province, who will facilitate publication of provincial progress reports by the middle of 2015.
SANAC is in the process of preparing for a mid-term review (MTR) of the National Strategic Plan on HIV, STIs and TB, 2012?2016 (NSP). The MTR will mark progress made on the implementation of the NSP and also recommend changes to the NSP and to SANAC structures. The progress of provincial strategic plans will also be assessed with greater emphasis on indicator-set updates.
A renewed commitment
The Deputy President and Chair of SANAC, Cyril Ramaphosa, has expressed his serious commitment to SANAC. Government and the inter-ministerial committee have bought into the multi-sectorial approach that will provide SANAC with the support and the political will to carry out its various obligations. The DP’s approach to the HIV response in South Africa is “We are doing well, but we’ve got so much more to do!”.