Programme director, Professor Rachel Gumbi
The Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi
The Honourable Ambassador Briët
Chair of HESA Board, Professor Errol Tyobeka
Vice Chancellors and Deputy Vice-chancellors
CEO of HESA, Professor Duma Malaza
HEAIDS Programme Director, Dr Gail Andrews
Distinguished guests
Colleagues
Ladies and gentlemen
It is a great honour for me to be present at this important conference on HIV and AIDS in higher education. I would like to commend the conference organisers, in particular, the HEAIDS secretariat for arranging an event of this magnitude. It certainly marks an important milestone in the country’s fight against HIV and AIDS. On taking up office last year, I asked to be briefed on what initiatives there are on HIV and AIDS given the importance of proactive engagement and action to mitigate the devastating impact of this on our society and individuals. I was heartened to hear that we had a strong programme supported by our international partners and driven by the constituency, our universities, with our support.
Recently, you would have heard or seen advertisements of government’ drive to have as many citizens testing for HIV as possible in the next 12 months. This initiative is spearheaded by the Department of Health and will be supported by my department. I will be writing shortly to institutions to encourage their co-operation with the Department of Health. The Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, will be addressing this conference and will certainly elaborate on the campaign. I want to express my support for the campaign and urge you as institutions of higher learning to actively participate and ensure its success. The threat of the spread of HIV and AIDS requires us to use a multi-pronged approach because despite much research on the issue of knowledge, attitudes and beliefs or perceptions, it is still unclear as to which messages and interventions are most effective in the fight against the spread of the virus. This conference is timely as it happens on the eve of the commencement of the testing campaign thereby giving us an opportunity to express our support for it.
At the outset, let me express on behalf of the higher education sector and the people of South Africa, my sincerest thanks to the delegation of the European Union (EU) for their support of Phase Two of the Higher Education HIV and AIDS (HEAIDS) Programme.
The EU funding support for the second phase to the amount of 20 million Euros will indeed prove to be invaluable for some time to come and has greatly contributed to the programme’s success. The HEAIDS Programme and many other programmes funded by the EU in South Africa are clear testimony to the strong, friendly relations we share with the European Union. Our partnership with the EU on this project has been a significant one and has set the foundations for a strong sectoral response to the HIV epidemic.
My sincere gratitude also goes to the vice-chancellors of our different institutions for their commitment and leadership in ensuring that the HEAIDS Programme receives the necessary attention and support of relevant structures within institutions. We hope that this conference will provide you with an opportunity to engage with the findings of the research and to jointly devise a strategy to strengthen our programmes and support systems within our institutions.
My ministry is indeed appreciative of all your efforts and would like to urge you to continue with your unwavering support and commitment to the fight against HIV and AIDS as we would like to see the implementation of HEAIDS phase three. Undoubtedly, the battle against HIV and AIDS can only be won if and when all of us play our part.
Programme Director, the HIV and AIDS pandemic is the greatest public health crisis facing the world today. Despite the sustained efforts directed at containing the disease, the rate of infection continues to grow in many parts of the world especially the developing countries. This growth has potentially damaging consequences on households, communities, businesses and national economies.
The United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS) 2009 Report estimates that in 2008, 33.4 million people were living with HIV worldwide. This is more than 20 percent higher than in 2000, and roughly threefold higher than in 1990. In the same year (2008), about 2.7 million people became infected and approximately two million died of AIDS related illnesses, the report states.
Sub-Saharan Africa carries the brunt and it remains a challenge that we cannot ignore. According to the UNAIDS Report, it was estimated that of the 2.7 million global infections in 2008, 1.9 million or 70 percent occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the same year, the region accounted for 68 percent of new HIV infections among adults and 91 percent of new HIV infections among children. The region also accounted for 72 percent of the world’s AIDS related deaths in 2008.
The consequences of this is that the natural age distribution in many national populations in Sub-Saharan Africa has been dramatically skewed because of HIV, with potentially perilous consequences for the transfer of knowledge and values from one generation to the next.
There are key questions that we as a sector must engage in and I would like to believe that this conference will assist in shaping our understanding.
The greatest conundrum facing us is that people are dying younger, poverty is growing and we are in the midst of a slowing economy. How does higher education respond to this? What is the leadership role that our institutions must play and how do we contribute to this war against HIV and AIDS?
Within Sub-Saharan Africa, Southern Africa, with 35 percent of the overall global HIV infection, remains the area most heavily affected by the pandemic. The nine countries with the highest HIV prevalence worldwide are all located in the sub-region. In this context, South Africa is reported to be a home to the world’s largest population of people living with HIV about 5.7 million according to the 2008 UNAIDS Report.
However, the country has one of the largest antiretroviral programmes in the world. Substantial public health benefits ensue from this improved access to treatment. In many parts of the country, mortality among patients is reported to have declined significantly as a result of these ART provisions.
A 2008 survey by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) on the HIV prevalence in South Africa shows that the prevalence of the virus in the total population of South Africa has stabilised at a level of about 11 percent. By way of comparison, the HEAIDS sero-prevalence study shows a prevalence of almost 10 percent among service staff (9.9 percent), 4.4 percent among administrative staff, 1.5 percent among academic staff and 3.4 percent among students in the higher education sector.
Despite the indications of the stabilisation of the disease, there is still a lot that needs to be done. It is of concern that the rate of infection is higher among women, Africans and service staff at the institutions. The HEAIDS study clearly shows that no institution can afford to relax its efforts to prevent the spread of HIV and to offer care, support and treatment to students and staff living with HIV. In some instances our efforts need to be intensified. HIV prevalence among students and staff varies quite considerably from region to region. Among students there is almost a six-fold difference between the lowest and highest regions.
The average HIV prevalence among service workers is 9.9 percent, rising to 20 percent in KwaZulu-Natal. One of the clearest implications of the survey is the need to strengthen workplace HIV and AIDS programmes at institutions. Behaviour that puts students at risk of HIV infection is quite common and it occurs at all institutions. HIV prevalence among students increases sharply with age as they progress from their late teens to early 20s and even more so after the 25 year mark. We have an obligation, as a sector, to act on these results and to be proactive in our messages around HIV and AIDS, the way in which HIV and AIDS is dealt with in the curriculum, the comprehensiveness of our HIV services and the structuring of workplace programmes in particular.
What is also emerging from the study is that class and gender once again, surface as points of vulnerability. These disparities are even prevalent in our higher education sector. There are some examples in the sector of good practice of infusing HIV and AIDS into our academic programmes and we must take the opportunity to share these experiences. I am concerned however, that while strides have been made, some social barriers to the effective reduction of HIV continue to exist despite comprehensive communication and awareness programmes.
One of these is that stigma towards those affected by the disease is still high and leads to environments of fear, distrust and pervasive discrimination that cannot continue. Another concern relates to the persistence of attitudes that perpetuate gender inequalities. Perceptions of risk amongst women on our campuses are too high and the study points to concerns about sexual harassment. I urge you to adopt a zero tolerance to these issues and work actively towards eliminating with rigor conditions of inequality, negative gender stereotypes and activities that allow women to be exploited.
Central to our approach is the ability to deal with poverty and our efforts as a pro-poor government are concentrated on eradicating poverty. We do recognise that poverty is the trigger for many diseases and not only HIV.
Universities are at the forefront and best placed to mobilise social response against the epidemic. The sector has a vital responsibility in providing intellectual leadership and to produce well-informed and empowered individuals in communities, as well as in the country as a whole. In fact, the sector is being challenged to provide the nation with working solutions to curb the spread of the virus, both clinically and socially.
While it is acknowledged that institutions have a critical role to play in the battle against HIV and AIDS, there is also recognition that a coordinated sector’s response would go a long way to strengthen and enhance our efforts and by so doing, help us move faster towards mitigating the negative impact of the disease.
In light of the above, the Ministry of Higher Education and Training and the collective leadership of the higher education sector as represented by Higher Education South Africa (HESA) have recognised the crucial importance of implementing a coordinated, comprehensive and integrated response to HIV and AIDS among institutions of higher education. As a matter of fact, HIV and AIDS is one of five key issues embedded in all our short and long-term strategic objectives of our new department. I am determined to ensure that the fight against HIV and AIDS is central in all our programmes in the Department of Higher Education and Training.
The HEAIDS Programme seeks to create an enabling environment for institutions to engage with the HIV and AIDS pandemic and mitigate its impact on the sector. We dare not fail in this resolve for the sake of our children, the generations to come and for the livelihood of our society.
The partnership we have developed in the implementation of the programme has proven to be invaluable. On this occasion marking the end of the HEAIDS phase two programmes and as is evident by the zero-prevalence results, we need to re-commit to the fight against the pandemic with added vigour, zeal and determination more than ever before.
The HIV and AIDS Policy Framework developed by the HEAIDS programme and higher education institutions, provides a useful guide to the sector on how to respond and actively manage the effects of HIV and AIDS within institutions. It has clearly stated objectives of strong sector leadership; creation of healthy and safe sector environment and a programme that is coordinated, comprehensive and integrated.
The HEAIDS Programme continues to support the Department of Higher Education and Training and Higher Education South Africa (HESA) in achieving the vision of a national education and training system which contributes towards improving the quality of life and prosperity of all South African citizens.
It is in this context that the Department of Higher Education and Training remains committed to work with HESA, higher education institutions and other relevant stakeholders to strengthen our efforts in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Perhaps I also need to remind you that we now have Further Education and Training Colleges as well as the skills sector under the same roof and need to be drawn in to programmes combating the pandemic through the lessons that have been learned in the course of HEAIDS implementation. We are convinced that through collective effort, we would be able to contain the spread of the disease, and reverse its negative impact on our communities. Indeed we do need to escalate our efforts to actively engage workers, students, academics and other role players in each institution and across the system.
We look forward to the roll-out of HEAIDS phase three. I am certain that if we continue with the same commitment and resolve we have shown during this passing phase of the programme, we will make significant inroads in our efforts to make our institutions safe, friendly, accommodative environments for all, especially for those students and members of staff who are infected or directly affected by the disease.
I am looking forward to the outcome of deliberations of this important conference as we mobilise resources to strengthen our efforts against the pandemic. I wish you all the success in your discussions over the next two days.
I am confident that your deliberations and sharing of experiences will not only consolidate the gains already made but will provide us with some concrete ideas and strategies on how to advance our fight against HIV and AIDS.
Thank you
Issued by: Department of Higher Education and Training
29 March 2010
