South Africa

The University of Kwazulu-Natal, in Durban, South Africa, has conferred an honorary degree on the UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé, to recognize his contribution to the global response to HIV.

Mr Sidibé was awarded a Doctor of Administration from the university’s College of Law and Management Studies during a graduation ceremony for students. The university said Mr Sidibé’s leadership and advocacy had led to an unprecedented global commitment to the AIDS response.

In his address to the students, Mr Sidibé urged them to have passion for everything they do, to show compassion for others at all times and to share their knowledge generously.

The University of KwaZulu-Natal is renowned for its excellence in scholarship, innovation and community engagement. The university is home to the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa, the UNAIDS Collaborating Centre for HIV Research and Policy.

The UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé, has met South Africa’s Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa, and the Minister of Health, Aaron Motsoaledi in Pretoria, South Africa, to discuss the country’s ongoing response to HIV.

South Africa is the country with the highest number of people living with HIV in the world: 6.5 million people. However, the country continues to scale up treatment and prevention services as part of the UNAIDS Fast-Track approach to ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030, and is showing results—around 340 000 people were newly infected with HIV in 2014, down from 600 000 in 2000.

This year promises to be particularly significant for South Africa’s AIDS response as the country will host the 21st International AIDS Conference in Durban in July. Mr Ramaphosa described it is a key opportunity to showcase the turnaround in the South African epidemic since the International AIDS Conference was last hosted in Durban, in 2000.  

Mr Ramaphosa also stated that South Africa will send a delegation to attend the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS in New York, United States of America, to be held in June.

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa launches a comprehensive plan to prevent and treat HIV among sex workers

GENEVA, 11 March 2016—UNAIDS welcomes the roll-out of South Africa’s National Sex Worker HIV Plan, 2016–2019. Launched by the Deputy President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, in his role as the Chairperson of the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC), this unique plan will ensure equitable access to health and legal services for sex workers in South Africa.

Sex workers experience a disproportionate burden of HIV, sexually transmitted infections, tuberculosis, violence, and stigma and discrimination. This progressive plan outlines a comprehensive and nationally coordinated response that is tailored to their specific needs and includes a core package of services for sex workers, their partners, their clients and their families.

As well as delivering access to health services to prevent and treat HIV, sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis, the plan also aims to provide sex workers with access to justice and legal protection services. These services will be made available through a combination of peer educators, community-driven outreach and referrals, and specialized clinics, as well as through primary health-care clinics, with training for all health workers. 

The plan includes making HIV testing available and accessible for sex workers. Sex workers who test HIV-positive will be offered antiretroviral therapy. Sex workers who are HIV-negative will be offered antiretroviral medicines to prevent HIV infection—pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)—in combination with other HIV prevention services.

“South Africa continues to lead and innovate,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé. “By listening to sex workers and collaborating with the community, South Africa’s tailor-made national HIV plan offers real hope for sex workers, who are often left behind in the AIDS response.”

The results of the Integrated Biological and Behavioural Surveillance survey, launched alongside the report today, demonstrate that HIV prevalence among female sex workers can be as high as 72% in South Africa, but with marked variation in prevalence between different urban settings. Furthermore, the study shows that uptake of antiretroviral therapy by female sex workers already know to be living with HIV is lower than the national average. In 2013, a rapid size estimation study commissioned by SANAC estimated that there were approximately 153 000 sex workers (female, male and transgender) in South Africa; most live and work in the main cities. Studies indicate that HIV prevalence among female sex workers is three to four times higher than among adult women in the general population.

Comprehensive HIV combination prevention, treatment and care services need to reach people who are at higher risk. Ending the AIDS epidemic relies on leaving nobody behind.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

The Deputy Executive Director of UNAIDS, Luiz Loures, joined a high-level panel in the opening plenary of the 46th Union World Conference on Lung Health to discuss the global challenges faced in ending the linked epidemics of HIV and tuberculosis (TB) as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The five-day conference is being held in Cape Town, South Africa, from 2 to 6 December 2015. South Africa has the highest rate of HIV-related TB in the world, with more than 60% of people living with TB in South Africa also living with HIV.  

Mr Loures stressed the need to engage and support the people and communities most affected by TB and HIV. “A people-centred, rights-based approach is essential to address HIV and TB,” said Mr Loures. “The power of change only comes when it is nurtured in the people themselves, through empowerment, outreach and inclusion.”

Constance Manwa, a survivor of multidrug resistant TB, community activist and mother living with HIV said, “Getting the community involved helps a lot. I was a patient but also gave lectures to the other patients in the community. It is important to get the message out to get tested early. People listen more to a person who has the same experience.”

Communities help in tailoring prevention and treatment services to meet the needs of people living with TB and can reach the people who are being left behind. They can also help in providing support for people living with HIV and TB to stay in care and on treatment.

Progress has been made. Since 1990, TB deaths have declined by almost 50%. However, TB is still the leading cause of death in South Africa and a leading cause of death globally. In 2014, more than one million people around the world died of TB. 

“We must stop talking about problems and start talking about solutions,” said Mark Dybul, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. ‘We need new drugs, we need new diagnostics, we can definitely eliminate tuberculosis.”

The government’s commitment to ending the AIDS epidemic in South Africa has saved millions of lives

PRETORIA/GENEVA, 2 December 2015—The Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, has commended the President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, for his bold and visionary leadership in responding to HIV. During a meeting in Pretoria, Mr Sidibé and President Zuma discussed the country’s plans to end the AIDS epidemic in South Africa and how UNAIDS can support South Africa to advance its Fast-Track efforts to reach ambitious targets by 2020 and drive the epidemic into permanent decline.

“I appreciate the support that UNAIDS has given South Africa since Mr Sidibé first visited for World AIDS Day in 2009,” said President Zuma. “I remember we were together then, and he also came the following year, when we both tested for HIV in public. People said I was crazy, but I knew it had to be done to show people that they didn’t have to be afraid. He was with us then and he will be with us every step of the way to ending AIDS.”

During Mr Sidibé’s 2009 visit, President Zuma, who was newly elected as President earlier that year, made major policy announcements that sparked a new era in South Africa’s response to HIV.

“South Africa has completely changed the face of the epidemic,” said Mr Sidibé. “These changes are a result of President Zuma’s bold leadership, taking South Africa out of a dark period of despair, dependency and denial to a time of hope, ownership and full responsibility.”

South Africa now has the largest HIV treatment programme in the world, with more than 3 million people accessing treatment across the country. South Africa currently tests 10 million people annually for HIV and around 600 000 people newly started antiretroviral therapy in 2014 alone. These programmes have been supported by an unprecedented domestic investment in HIV―currently $1.8 billion a year― and the second largest in the world.

In 2014 President Zuma, Former President Bill Clinton, UNAIDS and other partners brokered a radical reduction in the cost of viral load testing, thereby making it possible for many more people to be tested and the effectiveness of their treatment to be monitored.

One of the biggest successes in South Africa’s response has been in stopping new HIV infections among children. In 2004, approximately 70 000 babies became newly infected with HIV; by 2014, that number had been reduced by almost 90%.

PRETORIA/GENEVA, 2 December 2015—The Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, has appointed South African First Lady Tobeka Madiba Zuma as UNAIDS Special Advocate for the Health of Women, Youth and Children. During a ceremony in Pretoria, South Africa, Mr Sidibé and Madam Zuma also signed a memorandum of understanding between UNAIDS and the Tobeka Madiba Zuma (TMZ) Foundation to strengthen collaboration between UNAIDS and the TMZ Foundation.

Madam Zuma will use her position as a UNAIDS Special Advocate to speak out on issues related to women’s sexual and reproductive health, especially on HIV prevention among adolescent girls and young women.

“I am delighted to be here with the First Lady of South Africa, Madam Zuma, to recognize her work to improve the lives of women and girls in South Africa, and to appoint her as UNAIDS Special Advocate for the Health of Women, Youth and Children,” said Mr Sidibé. “UNAIDS will continue to support her in her good work.”

Madam Zuma, as patron and founder of the TMZ Foundation, conducts extensive advocacy work on women’s health, with a focus on HIV, tuberculosis and breast and cervical cancer.

“I would like to thank UNAIDS for having worked with myself and the TMZ Foundation in recent years. I would also like to thank my husband, President Jacob Zuma, for taking bold steps to take us from denial to taking responsibility for the HIV epidemic,” said Madam Zuma. “I am happy and honoured, and pledge to use my position as First Lady of South Africa to raise awareness of these issues.”

Adolescent girls and young women in South Africa between the ages of 15 and 24 are at a much higher risk of HIV. It is estimated that new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women in this age group account for a quarter of all new HIV infections in South Africa.

There are a range of biological and sociological factors that place young women and girls at higher risk of HIV infection, including early sexual debut, relationships with men much older than themselves, who may already be HIV-positive, and gender-based violence.
“Girls should have books, not babies,” remarked Madam Zuma, reflecting on the high prevalence of teenage pregnancy in the country.

The memorandum of understanding between UNAIDS and the TMZ Foundation will help to advance efforts in South Africa to improve the health of women, children and young people as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Fast-Track Strategy to reach people with HIV prevention and treatment and end the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat 

DURBAN/GENEVA, 1 December 2015—On World AIDS Day 2015, the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, has said that countries are on a countdown to ending their AIDS epidemics and that if swift and effective action is taken over the next five years, one by one they will break their epidemics so that they cannot rebound.

Mr Sidibé made the remarks as he joined the Deputy President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, at South Africa’s national World AIDS Day event, which was held in the Ugu District of KwaZulu-Natal Province on 1 December.

Introduced by Aaron Motsoaledi, the Minister of Health of South Africa, Mr Ramaphosa reflected on what World AIDS Day means to him: celebrating the courage of people living with HIV, evaluating the progress―or lack thereof―of the national AIDS response, recognizing partners and recommitting to the goal an HIV-free generation.

“This is the time for all of us to rise, act and protect. As a nation we must rise to the challenge and be confident that we can succeed,” said Mr Ramaphosa. “Yes, we will be triumphant and yes, we will make progress. As a nation and as individuals we must act to support and encourage others, and we must protect ourselves and those near to us.”

In his remarks, Mr Ramaphosa thanked Mr Sidibé for his role in encouraging South Africa to lead the charge towards ending AIDS.

“South Africa’s story is one of moving from denial to acceptance, from dependency to ownership and from despair to hope, with impressive results,” said Mr Sidibé. “South Africa has shown us not to be afraid of our future, but to shape it.”

Political leadership, community engagement and global solidarity have changed the face of the epidemic in South Africa.

In 2009, only a few hundred thousand people had access to antiretroviral therapy in South Africa. In just six years the number more than tripled, and in 2014 more than 3 million South Africans were accessing the life-changing treatment.

This was made possible by the government’s commitment and investment in the national response to HIV. South Africa invests US$ 1.8 billion dollars in the AIDS response—the second largest domestic investment in the world and the biggest in Africa. South Africa also secured a 53% reduction in the price of the provision of antiretroviral medicines. This has allowed more people to have access to treatment and has saved the country almost US$ 685 million over a two-year period.

The World AIDS Day event included participation by community champions, people living with HIV and a range of civil society organizations. A candle lighting ceremony was held to remember and honour loved ones lost to the AIDS epidemic.

“The world is facing a fragile five-year window of opportunity to break the epidemic and keep it from rebounding,” said Mr Sidibé. “We will not win against AIDS without communities. They are essential partners for the future success of the AIDS response.”

By supporting community organizations and strengthening local services, countries will be able to reach people who are still being left behind in the response to HIV. Ensuring access to HIV services for key populations will lead to healthier and more resilient societies. It will also significantly advance efforts to prevent new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths, and to eliminate HIV-related stigma and discrimination.

UNAIDS estimates that a record 15.8 million people are now accessing treatment globally. However, 21.1 million people still do not have access to treatment and 17 million people do not know they are living with HIV. With attention to location and population, countries will be able to redistribute resources to improve access to HIV prevention, testing and treatment services and close the gaps towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030. 

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Cities have a primary role to play to Fast-Track the end of the AIDS epidemic by 2030 says a report by UN-Habitat and UNAIDS.

Ending the AIDS epidemic: the advantage of cities was presented at the Africities Summit, held in Johannesburg, South Africa. The summit, held every three years, marks a critical time as cities enter the new era of the Sustainable Development Goals.

On the eve of World AIDS Day, it was announced that more than 150 cities have signed the Paris Declaration to commit to Fast-Track the end of the AIDS epidemic by 2030. The report outlines that cities and urban areas are particularly affected by HIV, with the 200 cities most affected by the epidemic estimated to account for more than a quarter of all people living with HIV around the world.

“The Fast-Track Cities approach will help urban leaders and communities to capture this opportunity,” said Alioune Badiane, UN-Habitat’s Director of Programmes. “A Fast-Track AIDS response means quickening the pace to prevent HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths. It means being focused and working with fragile communities, using methods that are known to work.”

The report highlights that city leaders have a unique opportunity to seize the dynamism, innovation and transformative force of the AIDS response to not only expand HIV services in cities but also address other urban challenges, including social exclusion, inequality and extreme poverty.

“Fast-Track cities means accelerated action—I can think of no better place than the Africities Summit to encourage leaders to commit to ending AIDS by 2030,” said Annemarie Hou, UNAIDS’ Director of Communications and Global Advocacy. “We are counting on cities to take the lead in innovating new health delivery systems to reach people who might otherwise be left behind.”

In almost half (94) of the 200 cities most affected, HIV is transmitted mainly through unprotected heterosexual sex. In the remaining 106 cities, sex work, unprotected sex between men and injecting drug use are the main drivers of the epidemics. In the Asia–Pacific region, about 25% of all people living with HIV are estimated to reside in 31 major cities, while in western and central Europe, an estimated 60% of all people living with HIV reside in just 20 cities.

According to the new report, data from 30 countries that have conducted nationally representative household-based population surveys show that HIV prevalence among people 15–49 years old living in urban areas is higher than among those living in rural areas in most countries.

Adolescent girls and young women must be empowered to provide the leadership that is needed to reduce new HIV infections in the highest burden countries in eastern and southern Africa. This is the message that Luiz Loures, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, shared during the launch of an international initiative in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 17 November that aims to keep adolescent girls and young women free from HIV.

Adolescent girls and young women are at higher risk of HIV infection for a range of biological and socioeconomic reasons, including poverty, gender inequality and limited access to youth-friendly health services. Adolescent girls and young women account for a quarter of new HIV infections in South Africa, according to the Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa. Yet, behind the numbers, there is a vibrant group of people aged 15 to 24 who are eager to get involved in solving problems that affect them and their communities.

Better known as DREAMS, the Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-Free, Mentored, and Safe initiative is supported by the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Girl Effect.

DREAMS will be implemented in two provinces and five high-burden districts in South Africa. Its ambitious target is to reduce new HIV infections among young women and girls by 40% over two years in 10 countries across eastern and southern Africa. 

During a visit to South Africa, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé met with President Jacob Zuma and First Lady Tobeka Zuma to discuss the country’s response to HIV.

During their meeting, President Zuma and Mr Sidibé applauded the contribution made by community health workers in reducing mother-to-child transmission of HIV. They discussed a successful service delivery model in KwaZulu-Natal that puts community health workers at the centre. This model has helped to drive down the number of new HIV infections among children in the province. If replicated across the country, the model could put South Africa firmly on track to eliminate new HIV infections among children.

In his meeting with Ms Zuma, discussions focused on the health of young women and adolescent girls, who are at particular risk of HIV infection.