Johannesburg, 3 November 2008—HIV Testing Week kicked off this morning as Right to Care and the Society for Family Health’s (SFH) began HIV testing in five provinces. Testing is taking place in the Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and Northern Cape provinces from 3 to 8 November 2008.
Testing Week calls on South African men, using the provocative slogan, "A Man Knows", to be courageous, get tested, and know their status. This challenge is in line with the South African government’s HIV/AIDS and STI National Strategic Plan objective to increase the number of adults who test for HIV, with a focus on men.
“The men within our communities play a vital role in halting the spread of this disease. Only a quarter of South African men have ever gotten an HIV test. This low rate is cause for great concern as it indicates that millions of men are likely living with AIDS and spreading the virus simply because they are not aware that they have it. We are saying to all South Africans with this campaign that knowing your status is empowering. It allows you to plan for a bright future with or without the virus,” said Dr. Thembi Xulu, Right to Care’s Clinical Director.
HIV Testing Week is supported by all five provincial government Departments of Health, funded by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and supported by technical experts from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Numerous non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and key corporate partners will participate in the campaign. This is the first time in South Africa that such a significant collaboration has united between NGOs, provincial government departments and private companies across the country.
Scott Billy, SFH Technical Advisor, said, “Several South African sporting and musical icons, like Johnny Clegg, Oscar Pistorius, Lucas Radebe, Natalie Du Toit and DJ Fresh have thrown their weight behind the campaign to ensure it engages the entire South African population and convinces men to test. We hope that, by giving this critical campaign these familiar and beloved faces, we will encourage more South Africans to know their status.”

 

About Right to Care

Right to Care (RTC) is a non-profit (Section 21) organisation established by two South African doctors in 2001. Right to Care is chiefly funded by PEPFAR through USAID and its aim is to build public and private sector capacity for the provision of safe, effective and affordable antiretroviral therapy.
Right to Care has a multi-pronged approach to the HIV pandemic, among which are:
* Supporting the government’s HIV/ AIDS programme through human resources, training, data management, and infrastructure
* Forming partnerships with the private sector and other NGOs to ensure the delivery of safe, effective, and affordable antiretroviral therapy
* Facilitating access to voluntary counselling and testing services

Right to Care is led by a management board consisting of Dr Ian Sanne (Managing Director), Dr Ali Bacher (Chairman)

 

About New Start

New Start is South Africa's largest HIV counselling and testing social marketing programme. It is a network that brings SFH and other local NGOs together to provide high quality HIV counselling and testing (CT). New Start is funded by the Global Fund via the South African National AIDS Committee and the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

 

About PEPFAR

In 2003, President Bush launched the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to combat global HIV/AIDS – the largest commitment by any nation to combat a single disease in human history. In 2008, President Bush signed into law H.R. 5501, the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorisation Act. This legislation responds to the President's call last year to expand our commitment to this successful programme for five additional years. PEPFAR South Africa is a multi-agency initiative to provide support to the South African government and other organisations in the response to HIV/AIDS. Participating US agencies include CDC, US Department of Defence, Department of State, Peace Corps, and USAID.