By Bontle Moeng
JOBURG health officials and volunteers will be walking door-to-door around the city's 11 regions educating local residents about HIV/Aids in the run up to World Aids Day on 1 December.
The door-to-door campaign - part of a provincial Aids awareness programme - was launched on Thursday and will continue until 1 December.
This year's campaign, Circles of Support, "aims to highlight the need to strengthen support for those infected and affected by HIV/Aids" and focusing on the needs of children infected and orphaned by the disease.
Circles of Support aims:
- To focus attention on the needs of children affected by HIV/Aids;
- To look at how communities can address the social, psychological and economic impact of HIV/Aids;
- To encourage voluntary testing;
- To educate about HIV/Aids prevention; and
- To provide information, education and advice on local services.
Representatives from the Johannesburg City Council, MECs, members of the Gauteng Aids Council and volunteers will also take part in the ongoing campaign. The City's health department said a total of 2 900 volunteers would walk the streets, knocking on residents' doors and sharing information about HIV/Aids.
Treatment Action Campaign Gauteng organiser, Xolani Kunene, said: "The TAC will focus on treatment for the people who are already infected and discuss the issue of prevention."
In Johannesburg door-to-door visits will take place between 9am and 3pm until 1 December.
Other activities planned by the City of Johannesburg include:
- 28 November: Region 7 - POWA and the Johannesburg health and social services departments will be conducting prayer meetings at the East Bank Hall, Alexandra, between 9am and 2pm.
- 28 November: Region 10 - various City departments will have a clean-up campaign, as well as educating on HIV/Aids and the use of condoms at the Diepkloof hostel, Soweto, from 9am to 3pm.
- 29 November: Region 6 - the Vusabantu project will be launched at the Jabavu clinic, Soweto, at 10.30am.
- 30 November: Region 8 - an Aids awareness service will be held at St Mary's Cathedral, in the centre of the city, between 9am and noon.
- 30 November: Region 4 - there will be a commemoration at the St Joseph's Church, in Sophiatown, for World Aids Day, between 8.30am and noon.
- 1 December: Region 10 - a World Aids Day sports day will be held at the Power Park sports centre, Orlando, from 9am to 6pm.
- 1 December: at the Metropolitan Centre - voluntary testing at the council offices in Braamfontein at noon.
Johannesburg Health Department's Trixie de Beer said the City was involved in the campaign as part of a national strategy.
According to a report presented to the Johannesburg council on Thursday: "The campaign has proved to be effective in ultimately changing sexual behaviour, fighting the stigma and discrimination towards people infected and affected by HIV/Aids." The report referred to research conducted by the provincial Department of Health.
According to the Gauteng Department of Health, the success of the campaign could be seen in the increased levels of awareness about HIV/Aids, changes in behaviour, a reduction in the number of new infections, an increase in the number of people going to voluntary counselling and testing, and the positive attitude shown by communities towards people living with HIV/Aids.
A 2002 survey indicated that Gauteng had the second highest prevalence of HIV in the country.
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