April 24, 2006
By Tammy O'Reilly
THE speakers at the launch of the City's Voluntary Counselling and Testing initiative had a message to deliver - and they did it without mincing their words or actions.
The initiative is part of Joburg's HIV/Aids Wellness Policy, focused on its employees. About 200 staff members from Region 5 gathered at the Roodepoort City Hall on Friday, 21 April to hear about the policy. It provides awareness, care and consultation to all its employees and their immediate family.
Staff member Queen Ncalo gave the audience a bold, informative demonstration on the use of male and female condoms, while the City's clinician, Vusi Mabena, spoke about the benefits of knowing one's status, and HIV-positive Xolani Siyaya cleared the air of the myths surrounding the disease.
"When we begin opening up about the disease we take one small step to combating this epidemic," Mabena said.
He has spent the past two years travelling through the City's regions, telling staff about the non-intrusive, but highly effective HIV/Aids Wellness Policy the council offers.
"The programme addresses both wellness and the social aspects [of the virus]," Mabena said. "Voluntary counselling and testing are offered, we provide medication and moral support, and even care for your immediate family members if they are HIV-positive."
Region 5 has had its own HIV/Aids support systems in place since 2001, in the form of frequent workshops and the dispensing of condoms.
"We are extremely pleased that the City of Johannesburg has such a caring policy in place," says Sirelda de Klerk, the co-ordinator of the region's programme. "I think one of the best features of the policy is the involvement of management. If management is aware of the demands that the disease has on people, it will be more sensitive to staff who have HIV."
Through the policy, training is given to managers, supervisors, the human resources department and union representatives. It ensures that all regions and utilities, agencies and corporatised entities identify and appoint HIV/Aids co-ordinators. And it guarantees that for every 50 employees, there is one peer educator responsible for HIV/Aids awareness and education.
"We offer something that medical aids cannot," Mabena explained. "Their couriers may come along and give you medication, but they don't offer the most important thing - care and support."
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