Dr Zweli Mkhize, in his capacity as the chairperson of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Council on AIDS will host delegates from the national government and other provinces during the sitting of the council.
Delegates will learn more about the provincial government successes with regards to the fight against HIV and AIDS and TB. Delegates include the National Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, MEC for Gauteng Department of Health Ms Ntombi Mekgwe, representatives from the office of the Deputy President and six member delegations from the Mpumalanga Provincial Council on AIDS Secretariat.
Agenda for the meeting includes the following:
- Reports by District Mayors on the Fight against HIV and AIDS and TB;
- Reports by Deputy Chairperson of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Council on AIDS Dr Nceba Gqaleni on the involvement of Civil Society in the fight against HIV and AIDS and TB;
- Report back on treatment and prevention resolution: Youth prevention and involvement of traditional leaders and church leaders.
Date: Wednesday, 13 June 2012
Time: 13h00
Venue: Royal Show Ground Hall No.6 in Pietermaritzburg
Editors and Health Reporters to Note:
HIV prevalence based on women’s ante-natal survey hovers around 40%, but has shown signs of stability.
Importantly:
- prevention of mother-to-child transmission shows the most encouraging reduction from 22% in 2008, to 2.8% in 2010, even lower than the Western Cape;
- aggressive expansion of anti-retroviral treatment has now reached over 500 000 patients, the largest in the country;
- voluntary counseling and testing has seen more than two million people being tested;
- medical circumcision has rapidly grown to exceed 105 000;
- while the rate of resistant TB (both Extensive Drug Resistance (XDR) and Multidrug Resistance (MDR) remains unacceptably high, the cure rate for complicated Tuberculosis has risen to 85% and defaulters have been reduced from 12.9% in 2007 to 6.6% currently.
Media is invited to attend the opening session of the council.
Enquiries:
Ndabezinhle Sibiya
Spokesperson for Premier Zweli Mkhize
Cell: 082 3754742
Regi Khumalo
Media Liaison
Cell: 079 751 6108
