Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi will on Monday, 14 February officially launch the start of the "First Things First" campaign which is a voluntary HIV testing, counselling and education campaign aimed at first year students in universities across the country.
The "First Things First" is a collaborative effort between the South African National Aids Council, Innovative Medicines of South Africa, Foundation for Professional Development, Departments of Health and Higher Education and the US President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR).
The short-term objective of this campaign is to test 35 000 first-year students by March 2011. The Foundation for Professional Development has facilitated the training of 250 staff members who are now able to test students on an ongoing basis ensuring a lasting legacy of testing in tertiary institutions beyond the campaign life.
The national HCT campaign was launched in April last year as part of promoting the culture of HIV counselling and testing and de-stigmatise HIV and AIDS
Members of the media are invited to attend the launch of this campaign scheduled to take place as follows:
Date: 14 February 2011
Time: 09h30 (media registration followed by media briefing at 10h00. The briefing will be addressed by Minister of Health, Deputy Minister of Higher Education, MEC for Health in Gauteng and Deputy Vice Chancellor of Wits University).
Venue: Wits Medical School
Fidel Hadebe
Cell: 079 517 3333
