Joburg gears up for World Aids Day

30 November 2017

 

Anumber of volunteers have started visiting households in all regions across the City to educate especially vulnerable communities about HIV and AIDS and to improve access to counselling, prevention and treatment programmes.

 

The main event to mark World Aids Day will be held on 1 December 2017 at the Ellis Park Indoor Arena in Johannesburg from 10am. The event will be attended by government departments, members of Civil Society, Metro/District AIDS Council members and members of the community.

The global theme of this year’s World AIDS Day will be “The Right to Health” and Joburg has trained volunteers to reach out to marginalised groups in particular in a bid to heighten the campaigns against HIV and AIDS.

“Together with members of the organised Civil Society and the Johannesburg Support Partners, the City of Johannesburg will conduct various activities prior and after the main event,” says Dr Baski Desai, Director of Public Health in the City.

The City’s activities will include: 
• Door-to-door HIV/AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Infections and TB Education will be conducted in all the Regions in Johannesburg to create awareness and mobilise communities to participate in the commemoration of WAD.
• Conversations with the Adolescent, Young Girls and Women (AYGW) in partnership with the Dreams project. 
• Conversations with key leaders and AYGW in partnership with Department of Health, Social Development and Education with specific focus on the Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS- free, Mentored and Safe (DREAMS) Project. 
• Regional Dialogues with key populations: adolescent girls and young women; Youth in and out of school; commmunities in informal settlements.