City of Ekurhuleni joins hands with local entities to improve communities

The City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) in collaboration with the Aids Unit under the City’s Health and Social Development, held a three-day training at Alberton Civic Centre.

This training provided pivotal skills to the CoE Community Support Program (CSP) field workers who will despatch to different communities.

More than 200 CSP field workers are now ready to help communities. The workers will conduct door-to-door health education around the Ekurhuleni community as part of the department’s ongoing effort to build AIDS-competent communities.

Additionally, they will offer vital information and connections to other social development services like Home Affairs, Social Services, and NGOs.

All Customer Care Centre HIV/Aids coordinators will guide these committed workers, who form part of the city’s Health and Social Development Department Aids Unit.

“This ward-based intervention ensures all community members in Ekurhuleni have access to life-saving health education to build awareness and equip them with skills not just about communicable diseases such as HIV, TB, and STIs but also non-communicable diseases like hypertension, diabetes, cancer, depression among others,” said Gugu Dlamini, training officer of THE HIV/Aids Unit.

The programme is in line with the goals of the National Strategic Plan for HIV/Aids, TB, and STIs, the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets and the sustainable development goals.

Through this project, community members will learn how to avoid contracting infectious and non-infectious diseases and what to do if they contract an illness.

As a result, as people become more aware of illness prevention, treatment, care, and support, the disease burden is reduced on families, the community, and health systems.

Dlamini added: “The ripple effect of community health education, if done correctly, is it reduces morbidity and mortality, and the state does not have to carry the ever-increasing financial burden of looking after the sick, orphans and vulnerable children.

“Because of this, it is important to adequately equip the CSP volunteers with knowledge and skills which they will further impart to the community.”