HIVSA supporting the HCT Campaign

The South African Governments’ HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) Campaign was announced by President Jacob Zuma in December 2009 and Launched in April 2010. The campaign aims to test 15 million people between April 2010 and June 2011 and will: -

• Mobilise people to know their status;
• Increase access to treatment, care and support services.
• Support people with key prevention messaging in order to encourage them to take proactive steps towards a healthy lifestyle - irrespective of HIV status;

This campaign faces many challenges some of which include having insufficient material and human resources and the ability to mobilise enough people to test. It is therefore important that all organisations involved in health provide support to this campaign. HIVSA is assisting the Gauteng Department of Health and Social Development by training over 300 lay counsellors in HCT and providing social mobilization, for people to test, in and around Soweto.

The training of lay counsellors is being run by our training department and provides a pragmatic level of training that focuses on the pre and post test counselling skills required to increase testing. The HIVSA training department specializes in HIV and Counsellor training and is also currently running the first SETA accredited Further Education and Training Certificate in Counselling (FETC Counselling).

For the social mobilisation element we are running community based campaigns or “Road shows” in different parts of Soweto and are actively working with CBOs (Community Based Organisations) and local clinics to ensure that these activities have broader impact which is sustainable. Together with our partner “New Start” we will be providing testing facilities at specific events and community members are thereafter encouraged to test at their local clinics.

For more information on the HCT Campaign visit the SANAC website