The Provincial Council on AIDS, which met today (Wed, 10 Aug, 2011) at the Pietermaritzburg City Hall, recorded a significant gain in the fight against HIV and AIDS in KwaZulu-Natal.
The Council, chaired by KZN Premier Dr Zweli Mkhize, heard that the transmission of HIV from mothers to their newborn babies at birth has been significantly reduced from 22% in 2005 to 2,8% in 2010.
The Council comprises various stakeholders, including the provincial government, mayors from all municipalities in the province, academics and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
“We are grateful for this success, and we encourage everyone – in government and the community – to ensure that no child in our province is born with HIV and no child gets infected at a later stage,” said Dr Mkhize.
A report was also tabled on the progress made on the Male Medical Circumcision (MMC) programme, which was implemented in the province after a call made by His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelithini for the revival of the age-old practice.
“In the implementation of the MMC, a total of 54 686 operations have been conducted and none of these have had any serious adverse effects,” read the report.
Members of the council were all agreed that in spite of negative publicity in the media on the Tara Klamp, the device remains safe. A total of more than 10 000 male circumcisions have been conducted by the Department of Health utilising the Tara Klamp, “and all clients are alive and have no permanent damage to their bodies”.
The council raised its concern about recent reports on allegations on the handling of the foreskins.
“The public should be informed that the healthcare workers dispose of the foreskins, including that of babies, in accordance with the Human Tissue Act.
“There is therefore no human tissue used for cosmetics or anything else after removal from the client,” said Dr Mkhize.
The Council also took a resolution to fully support the Male Medical Circumcision programme, and said it should in fact be accelerated.
A report was also tabled, which hailed great strides reached in the voluntary testing and counseling, with just under 3 million people tested, which is 95% of the target which was set to be reached by June last year.
“We’d like to encourage all members of the community to go for voluntary testing so that they know their status. This makes it easy for intervention to start early in cases where there is a need,” said Dr Mkhize.
He also said of great concern now, is the rate at which young girl are getting infected with the HIV virus, and these are cases where mostly the male partner is an older person, or “sugar daddies”.
“We’d like to urge all community members from all wards, and every home in the province, to contribute in the fight against HIV, as our province is showing a prevalence of 39,5%. This will be our first step toward an HIV free society,” said Dr Mkhize.
Dr Mkhize also introduced members of the Broadreach Healthcare to the council. Broadreach is an NGO, which has shown a keen interest in partnering with the Provincial AIDS Council
For more information, contact:
Ndabezinhle Sibiya, Premier’s Spokesperson,
Cell: 082 3754742
E-mail: sibiyand@premier.kzntl.gov.za
