KZN Health MEC wants to eradicate HIV transmission
“We have done extremely well to reduce the rate of mother to child transmission of HIV from 20% in 2008 to just 1%."
ALTHOUGH the rate of mother-to-child transmission of HIV has dropped from 20% to 1% over the past 10 years in KwaZulu-Natal, provincial Health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo says the focus should now be on ensuring that not a single baby acquires HIV from their mother.
HIV can spread from a woman to her child during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding. However, through early testing and detection of HIV; commencement of Antiretroviral Treatment; and adherence to treatment instructions, the risk of infection can be eliminated.
“We have done extremely well to reduce the rate of mother to child transmission of HIV from 20% in 2008 to just 1%. That is a significant milestone. The challenge now is to make the Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV a reality. We will continue working hard to achieve that. In line with the theme of World AIDS Day Know Your Status – Cheka Impilo,” said Dhlomo.
According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), KZN has had the highest decline in TB incidence, with a decrease from 1 149 per 100 000 people in 2011 to 481 per 100 000 people currently.
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“As we symbolically remember those who lost their lives to AIDS, we also celebrate the massive progress that we have made. HIV and AIDS used to ravage our societies. People used to get sick, and develop all the symptoms that made others start speculating what they were suffering from. It stripped them of their dignity. Our cemeteries became battle grounds for burial space, bursting with groups of sad and heartbroken people burying their loved ones every weekend.
“But today, that is no longer the case. The life expectancy of South Africans has now increased from 45.5 years for men and 48.4 years for women and women from 2001 – 2006; to 57.8 years for men an 63.5 years for women from 2016 onwards. So, people are no longer dying in large numbers,” he said.
We have restored people’s hope and dignity, and given them the precious gift of life. More focus would also be put on protecting girls and women aged 10 to 24, who face the highest risk of getting infected with HIV, Dhlomo further urged all citizens to get tested for HIV at least once a year.
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