Worlds AIDS Day celebrated in Khayelitsha

By Ofentse Mokae
01 December 2009

As part of the global commemoration of World Aids day, throngs of Khayelitsha residents came out in their numbers to celebrate the achievements in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Community health based organisations in partnership with the City of Cape Town marked World AIDS Day by celebrating “Living Positively” through a special Zip Zap circus show involving HIV-positive children .

Despite Khayelitsha being one of the townships faced with high rates of HIV and TB infections in the country, residents expressed hope that the war against the scourge will be won.

The Treatment Action Campaigns one of the community based organisations in the partnership, today said it called for community based treatment for MDR and XDR TB be made available.

The Medecins San Frontieres, the City of Cape Town and the Provincial Health department launched a pioneering HIV/AIDS treatment programme in Khayelitsha.

“Over 13 000 people have successfully been started on life-saving antiretroviral therapy,” said Dr Gillies van Custem Project Co-ordinator for Medecins Sans Frontiers in Khayelitsha.

Van Custem said the ART programme is one of the oldest cohorts in the public sector in Africa.

“As such, it provides an important window into the major clinical and programmatic challenges awaiting other large-scale HIV/AIDS treatment programmes in South Africa,”added van Custem.

Director of Metro District Health System in the health department Dr Giovanni Perez said successful collaboration produced an invoative model of care for HIV services in one of the highest burden areas in the country.

“Thanks to the decentralisation of HIV/AIDS care to primary care clinics ART is available in nine clinics in Khayelitsha,” said Perez.

Khayelitsha carries the highest burden in of both HIV and TB.
During the proceedings at the celebrations held at the OR Tambo Hall a moment of silence was observed for those who lost their lives to the epidemic.