World AIDS Day

EVERYDAY IS WORLD AIDS DAY AT HILLCREST AIDS CENTRE TRUST

01 December 2012 marks nearly five decades since the HIV virus was first identified in humans. This day, celebrated globally as World AIDS Day, gives us the opportunity to join the international community in commemoration of those that have passed from HIV/AIDS, to raise awareness of the disease, and to celebrate the strides made over the years in treatment and prevention. From 2011 to 2015, the World AIDS Day theme focuses on “Getting to Zero: Zero new infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS related deaths” and calls for people around the world to unite against HIV/AIDS.

AIDS remains one of the leading causes of death in sub-Saharan Africa, however in the past decade we have seen a great amount of progress in South Africa. From 2008 to 2011 the number of new infections in children between the ages of 0 to 14 dropped from 430,000 to 63,600 children, due to successful prevention efforts. In addition, the number of people living with HIV in South Africa has dropped from 5.6 million in 2009 to 5.38 million in 2011. In our lifetime, we have seen an HIV/AIDS diagnosis go from being a prognosis of death to becoming a manageable disease due to increased accessibility of antiretroviral medication (ARVs) and increased understanding of their benefits.

The progress in HIV/AIDS related care can also be witnessed at Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust (HACT), a not-for-profit organization with over 20 years of dedication to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in KwaZulu-Natal’s Valley of 1000 Hills region. Recent HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) statistics show that in 2012 only 12% out of almost 6000 people tested positive for HIV. Additionally, among critically ill patients admitted to Othandweni, the centre’s onsite respite unit,  60% recover and are discharged. HACT takes a holistic approach to HIV/AIDS, working with patients to respond to their physical, spiritual, emotional and economic needs through a range of projects that include an onsite 24 bed respite unit, a home based care programme, and orphaned and vulnerable children programme,  income generation projects including the Woza Moya craft store and a plant nursery, a horticulture programme, HIV education, testing and counselling, and granny support groups.

Rita Shange, HACT Counselling and Education Manager, said the marked decrease in the percentage of people testing HIV positive is highly encouraging.  “We are seeing a decrease in the number of being testing HIV positive almost year on year. People seem to understand these days that everyone needs to know their status and test regularly,” she said. “In the old days people used to be so afraid of testing because there was no treatment available and there really wasn’t much point in knowing your status. Today, HIV is a management chronic illness, not a death sentence, and people are starting to understand that and come forward for testing before they start feeling ill.” 

Rita said that whilst the international community focuses on the AIDS pandemic one day in the year, for organisations working in the HIV/AIDS field every day is World AIDS Day. “For the majority of South Africans, HIV is something we deal with daily. For the grannies caring for AIDS orphans, for the orphan-headed households, for the patients in hospitals, hospices and respite units, for the many home-based carers working throughout the country to provide care to people living with HIV, for all those living with HIV – every day is World AIDS Day.