SOUTH AFRICANS ASKED TO MAKE ‘A BIG NOISE’ ON WORLD AIDS DAY

South Africans are being encouraged to “make a big noise” on World Aids Day by blowing red vuvuzelas at midday on that day, December 1, to signal their support for the fight against the pandemic.

The call was made today by Right to Care, one of South Africa’s leading NGOs in the field of HIV and Aids counselling, testing, and treatment. Right to Care is a non-profit organisation funded by the US governmental aid agency USAID.

The Johannesburg-based NGO believes that the time has come to make a noise to draw attention to the massive challenge facing South Africa, instead of partaking in the usual World Aids Day practice of lighting candles and observing a minute’s silence for those who lives have been claimed by the disease.

Says Dr Ali Bacher, chairman of Right to Care, “We encourage corporate South Africa to buy specially branded red vuvuzelas and to hand them out to their staff. So far, we have distributed 20 000 of these. The idea is that employees dress in red on World Aids Day and are then encouraged to step outside at midday on December 1 and blow their vuvuzelas to signal their support for the fight against HIV and Aids.”

Dr Thembi Xulu, executive director of Right to Care, says, “We have a chance to make a beautiful noise on behalf of those who are winning the war against HIV and Aids. We want the whole of South Africa to hear the message loud and clear on World Aids Day. The vuvuzela has become the distinctive sound of South African supporters.”

The “Make a Noise for Aids” project is the brainchild of Right to Care’s Dr Grietjie Strydom, head of the organisation’s private programmes division. She got the idea when she recently attended a function addressed by Constitutional Judge and Aids activist Edwin Cameron in which he encouraged people to “break their silence” on the pandemic because talking about it helped to break the stigma surrounding it.

Prof Ian Sanne, co-founder and chief executive of Right to Care, says, “This is a commendable initiative to draw attention in a demonstrative way to the challenge facing South Africa. We trust that the corporate sector will join us in making it a resounding success.”

Judge Cameron has announced he is “100 percent supportive” of the Make a Noise for Aids project and appealed to business leaders to get involved in driving the initiative forward in the next week.

For details on how to order branded red vuvuzelas, please contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Dr Grietjie Strydom on 083 700 3286.