World AIDS Day is commemorated each year on 1 December and is an opportunity for every community to unite in the response to HIV, show support for people living with HIV and remember those who have passed away. For World AIDS Day 2015 in South Africa, the country will come together to leverage the momentum and energy of local responses to HIV and TB to celebrate and acknowledge the vital role that communities have played in the success of the AIDS response, especially in recent years.
South Africa has made tremendous progress to turn the HIV and TB epidemics around and there are notable achievements to celebrate. A review of our efforts in addressing the HIV epidemic over the past 20 years paints a mixed picture. There have been many scientific advances in HIV treatment and we now have a much better understanding of the virus. More people are receiving anti-retro-viral treatment, and there is growing recognition of the benefits of treatment as prevention, and progress towards a cure and vaccine.
However, despite these advances, communities are still faced with the challenges of capacity, as they struggle to deliver services to uphold the dignity of people living with HIV and people living with TB.
At the heart of World AIDS Day 2015 is the message that there is no way we will be able to work towards ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, without getting communities re-energized and committed. The time has come to once again turn the spotlight on local responses and emphasize that communities – especially people at higher risk of HIV infection – are the last, and most critical, piece of the puzzle.
Within the current economic climate, and as resources for the HIV response diminish, there is an increased focus on ensuring that available resources are invested strategically, and are targeted at interventions and populations that will yield the highest impact. Civil society and community-based responses have been a prominent feature of the HIV response over the last three decades. The engagement and participation of civil society and the community in shaping and driving the response forward has led to many of the gains that have been achieved.
For World AIDS Day 2015, we have selected four “Community Champions” from all around South Africa who make a difference in their communities every day. We hope that their stories will inspire others to stand up, take action and protect themselves and others against HIV and TB. In the following pages of SANAC News, our Community Champions tell their stories.