Deputy President David Mabuza commemorates World Aids Day in Limpopo
Annually, the 1st December is earmarked as World Aids Day. This year, 2021, Limpopo Province is host to National World Aids Day which was celebrated at Sasalemani Stadium, Xikundu Village, Vhembe District.
The Deputy President (DP), David Mabuza delivered keynote address in his capacity as the Chairperson of South African National Aids Council (SANAC). The day kick started with courtesy visit to Hosi Maluleke followed by Door to door awareness campaign on HIV, TB prevention and Covid-19.
DP Mabuza was accompanied by Premier of Limpopo, Mr Chupu Mathabatha, Health Minister, Dr Joe Phaahla, Deputy Chairperson of SANAC, Ms Steve Letsike, Limpopo Health MEC, Dr Phophi Ramabutha, Social Development MEC Mme Nkakareng Rakgoale and other social partners.
Addressing the community at Sasalemani Stadium, DP David Mabuza indicated that our country has seen a drop in life expectancy in both men and women since the outbreak of covid-19 which contributed to death of thousands people.
Deputy President said that: “Irrespective of this decline, we are still registering major improvement from the time before our comprehensive roll-out of the Anti-retroviral treatment programme and the expansion of health programmes to prevent mother-to-child transmission”.
“Despite all these strides, we have suffered certain setbacks in other aspects of human progress. These include teenage pregnancy, gender-based violence and femicide, stigmatisation of those who are HIV positive, killings of LGBTQI+ community, ritual killings especially people with albinism as well as continued hesitancy to take up Covid-19 vaccines”, he added.
Premier Mathabatha has made a clarion call to civil society organizations to continue partnering with all spheres of government to ensure that the province emerge victorious in this battle against deadly but manageable deceases. This is despite the Limpopo Provincial AIDS Council being fully functional and continues to play its oversight role in monitoring the multi-sectoral provincial response to HIV, TB and STIs.
In his message of support, Premier Mathabatha indicated the followings increase of HIV prevalence from 11.5% in 2017 to 12% in 2021; decline in new HIV infections across all age groups. However, infections among females of 15-24 years, which is four times higher than their male counterparts; conducted HIV testing of 724 225 people in the first 6 months of 2021/2022 financial year; intensify message to stop mother to child transmission and Covid-19 has reversed the gains made in 2020 in terms of reducing mother to child transmission to less than 1%.
Premier Mathabatha said that: “So what we are going to do is to combine the three (HIV, TB and Covid-19) because they are all pandemics. The Department of Health and Social Development has their own programmes, so we are going to come up with common programmes so that we can reverse these pandemics. The modus operandi is now going to change. Now when we go to a shopping mall will not vaccinate only but do vaccinate, teach people about HIV and Aids, test HIV and Aids, TB mobilization, and contentious people about no abuse of women and children”.
The South African National Aids Council Executive Manager, Reverend Zwo Nevhuthalu pleaded with the communities to do health screening. “World Aids Day is a global Health Day and in South African, we commemorate not as a day but as a campaign wave. This year, we focusing on mobilizing people to work together to end inequalities, HIV Aids, TB and also Covid-19 and the call that we are making to the whole community is that people must get tested for number of diseases, get vaccinated for covid-19, if you test positive its not a death sentence you can actually continue to live a healthy and productive live only if you adhere to treatment”, urged Rev Nevhuthalu.