Blogs

HIVSA has released some of it's new hi4LIFE services in Soweto, Limpopo and Mpumalanga. The mission of the hi4LIFE project is to allow South Africans to access trusted health information on their cellphones.

More households now have cellphones than have radios in South Africa and the nature of various cellphone technologies make them ideal for getting public health information into peoples hands.

hi4LIFE is initially focusing on pregnant women, new mothers and young women through giving information on ...

The Orange Babies Foundation was established to help pregnant women infected with HIV and their babies in Africa. Orange Babies also provides support for children infected with the virus or otherwise indirectly affected. Orange Babies also works to raise awareness not only in the Netherlands but throughout Europe for the HIV/AIDS problem in Africa.

Orange Babies raises money by organizing creative events such as exhibitions, fashion shows, music and sports events. Although only a small organization tackling an immense problem, Orange Babies is of the conviction that doing nothing is not an option.

Glen Mabuza, project coordinator for HIVSA attended one of their fundraising “ GALA EVENTS” in Amsterdam on the 25th June 2011. To read more about how they support HIVSA click here

photo credit Adrian Kuipers

In the community my son is known for all the bad things. Most people would say he will never be like others: they would go as far as saying like father like son, because I have also served time in jail and had done a number of things that I am not proud of. My community has not given my child to make his own mistakes but has forever said he will grow up and be like me. Yesterday he told me that at camp they taught him how to dream with his eyes open. I don’t know what that means but the look on his face showed me that he knows exactly what he is talking about. Sizanani has given me hope. Thank you.

(This was said by a father of one of the children attending the camp during the Easter holidays)

For our first camp this year, we piloted a day camp model which was a change from our residential setting. The results were beyond our expectations!

We held the 8-day day camp at the Thusa-Setjhaba Secondary School in Poortjie, about 40 km from Soweto. There are some 4,000 homes and a population of 25,000-30,000 people. There is very high unemployment, high crime and drug use, and no apparent infrastructure for job creation or economic growth. Most people live in squatter-type housing, although there were about 100 units of government housing built near the school. This is the only Secondary School that caters for over a thousand students, more than 50 children in each of the classrooms.

Zivuse Uphile site up and running

We are able to say “hello and welcome to ZIVUSE UPHILE" . The site previously known as the ex-Salvation Army static site has received it’s official new name. We are proud to announce the launch of this facility that started testing in February. The aim is to develop this testing site into a male and couple friendly site and create a safe haven for men to visit with their partners and as fathers.

On World AIDS day 1st December 2009, Jacob Zuma announced a massive campaign to mobilise all South Africans to get tested for HIV and to ensure that every South African knows their HIV status. This is referred to as the HCT (HIV Counselling and Testing) Campaign - A total of 15 million people are targeted for HCT in South Africa by the end of June 2011.

HIV Counselling and Testing is considered by the South African National AIDS Council to be key to HIV prevention. This works on many levels - for example people when people know their status they are more able to make informed decisions for themselves and their families and people who start, and are adherent to, HIV treatment are less likely to spread the virus.

HIVSA is supporting and playing an active role in the HCT campaign. We are working in regions D and G of Johannesburg and are scaling up testing. The barometer on the left of this page gives ongoing statistics of the number of people tested through our activities.

Male Medical Circumcision provides some degree of prevention against HIV and other Sexually Transmitted Infections(STIs). Because of this there is now a compelling reason to promote Male Medical Circumcision is populations that have a high incidence of HIV or other STIs.

As is the case with HIV testing, circumcision must include a counselling element and counsellors must be trained on issues around HIV.

With this in mind HIVSA, in association with CHAPS and the Anova Health Institute, have produced a range of materials for counsellors, including 'Facilitators' and 'Learners' guides for a 2 day course and a counsellor flipchart.

HIVSA's Pamphlet Series - 'What you need to know about...' has been developed into a guide that is available on data enabled mobile phone. The guide contains all of the information in the 18 Pamphlets as well as some details on other mobile web resources available in South Africa.

To view the mobile guide simply visit HIVSA.Mobi

If you would like us to send you a link to the site to your cellphone then visit "Suggest this site to a friend" and we will send you a free link. You can also SMS guide to 32759 to get the link to the main site (Note that we can only send link to South African cell numbers).

The second pamphlet in out series, entitled "what you need to know about HIV and Youth" can be found below in a pamphlet slide view and can also be downloaded as a pdf file. It covers "How you get HIV, relevance of HIV to teenagers, testing and related issues.

The first pamphlet in out series, entitled "what you need to know about HIV and AIDS" can be found below in a pamphlet slide view and can also be downloaded as a pdf file. It covers a range of issues including how you get HIV and how you can protect yourself, and others, from HIV.

Download the pamphlet here

HIVSA has produced a range of new educational pamphlets which cover the following subjects: -