THE world observes the 1 December as World Aids Day annually.
This time, it will be used to reflect on the achievements in terms of fighting the disease.
Mzansi started commemorating this day in 1996 with the objective of raising public awareness, preventing the spread of the disease, and improving the lives of people living with the virus.
Also, the day serves as a reminder that HIV has not gone away and that there is a need to increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve education among the public.
In his recent address on Tuesday, 28 November, Deputy President and Chairperson of the South African National Aids Council Paul Mashatile said World Aids Day offered an opportunity to reflect on the country's progress towards eliminating HIV as a public health threat, as well as ending TB by the year 2030 and that regrettably, it also provides the nation with a chance to commemorate the lives lost as a result of conditions related to Aids.
On Monday, 27 November, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), in collaboration with its partners, announced key findings from the Sixth South African National HIV Prevalence, Incidence, and Behaviour Survey (SABSSM VI), which highlight progress toward ending HIV in South Africa, the country with the world's largest HIV epidemic.
SABSSM VI found that the percentage of all people living with HIV in South Africa has decreased from 14.0% in 2017 to 12.7% in 2022.
This translates to approximately 7.8 million people living with HIV in South Africa in 2022 compared to 7.9 million in 2017.
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Professor Khangelani Zuma, Divisional Executive of the Public Health, Societies, and Belonging Division of the HSRC and the overall Principal Investigator of the survey, said several factors contribute to HIV prevalence.
"These factors include fewer people getting infected with HIV, more children born HIV-negative, AIDS-related mortality, and people ageing and dying from natural causes. The increase in the population (birth of HIV-negative babies) would also increase the denominator of HIV-negative people in the country. The epidemic curve also shows an ageing population of people living with HIV who are living longer as the epidemic stabilises," Professor Zuma added.
SABSSM VI was conducted in all nine provinces of South Africa among participants aged 0+ years from over 27,000 households on key HIV indicators, social and behavioural factors, and access to medical interventions in South Africa.
This year's official commemoration will be held in KwaZulu-Natal under the theme "Let Communities Lead".
