DATE: 1 DECEMBER 2022
TIME: 10: 00
Programme Director,
Members of the Executive Council present here today
Executive Mayor of Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality
The Mayor Executive Mayor of Mahikeng Local Municipality
Members of the Provincial Aids Council
House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders
Leaders of Faith Based Organisations
Distinguished guests
Bagaetsho Dumelang,
Today marks the 34th Commemoration on World Aids Day. In the last three decades we have lost our loved ones due to this pandemic. This day present us with yet another opportunity to unite in the fight against HIV-AIDS but critically to show support and sympathy to people living with it.
This commemoration comes at the time where the world rising from the ashes of another pandemic, the Covid-19 virus. Many of our loved ones lost their lives due to this virus. Industries were forced to close shop leaving many unemployed and destitute. Today the unemployment rate in our beloved country is estimated at fourty four percent (44%). We need to urgently resuscitate our ailing economy and respond to challenges of poverty and unemployment confronting our province.
It is predominantly global South countries and in particular Sub-Saharan states that have been largely affected by HIV-Aids and Covid-19. Compounding this, is challenges of unemployment, poverty and income inequalities. Hence the theme for this year’s commemoration; “Equalise and Integrate to end AIDS”. This year’s theme is a clarion call on world leaders and all of us to work in unison to end inequalities through;
• Lifting up the availability, quality and suitability of services, for HIV treatment, testing and prevention, so that everyone is well-served.
• Reforming laws, policies and practices to tackle the stigma and exclusion faced by people living with HIV and by key and marginalised populations, so that everyone is shown respect and is welcomed.
• Ensuring the sharing of technology to enable equal access to the best HIV science, between communities and between the Global South and North. • This will enable communities to make use of and adapt the “Equalise” message to highlight the particular inequalities they face and to press for the actions needed to address them.
These objectives are given credence by the United Nations Global AIDS Strategy which is aimed at addressing challenges of poverty and inequalities as these continue to hamper progress in the fight against HIV-AIDS. Poverty has been singled out as the most dominant driver of the AIDS pandemic. Lack of access to health care as well as gender and racial inequalities have been cited as impediments in the fight against HIV & AIDS. Our province is predominantly rural and issues such as poverty and unemployment have been worsened by the ramifications of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The “Equalise and Integrate to end Aids” theme is further seeking to;
• To integrate health services for the benefit of all.
• To address inequalities that continue to create barriers against access to prevention, treatment and care.
• To scale up “equalisation” and “integration” efforts towards the ultimate objective of ending AIDS by 2030.
In finding solutions to these matters the provincial government has been criss-crossing the province meeting with different stakeholders to lure them in becoming part of a solution on a number of socio-economic challenges bedevilling the development of the province. This includes business, the creative industry, traditional leadership as well leaders of faith-based organisations. Through the South African National Council on AIDS (SANAC) we will be working with these organisations in the fight against HIV-AIDS. Government also took a decision to formulate an integrated approach and response to HIV, TB and Covid-19. This was primarily informed by the fact that due to Covid-19 there were widespread interruptions in HIV & TB service. The COVID 19 pandemic had an adverse impact in the ability of the provincial government to meet the targets set out by the World Health Organisation in the fight against HIV-AIDS.
In 2015 our country joined the international commitment to reach the 90-90-90 targets by the end of 2020 as a response to eliminate HIV and AIDS. To this end, the HIV cascades are now monitored through the 95-95-95 targets as at June 2022. This new set of ambitious targets calls for 95 % of all people living with HIV to know their status, 95 % of all people with diagnosed infection to receive sustained antiretroviral therapy and 95 % of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy to have viral suppression by 2025. The North West Province is at ninety-three (93%) of those who know their status. Seventy five percent (75 %) of the people who know their status are on treatment and patients who are virally suppressed stands at 84%. As government we further commit to trace all HIV positive people and put them on treatment to make sure that they are virally oppressed. Hence it is important that we must work together to achieve the new 95-95-95 targets. This will be done through the implementation of the Phuthuma Project strategy to reach the 95-95-95 targets. This includes community-based testing to increase case finding, tracking and tracing those who needs immediate care and treatment. One of the main priorities of government is to initiate and retain 119 408 people on Anti-Retroviral Treatment to reach these targets. The provincial government has taken a decision to host the Provincial World Aids Day in Mahikeng Local Municipality. This is as a consequence of rising numbers in Gender-Based Violence as well as Women and Child Abuse cases in the Mahikeng Local Municipality. The provincial crime statistics by the SAPS paints a grim picture on cases of Gender-based violence and femicide. In the first quarter of 2021/22 financial year rape increased by 10.9 % in the province with the total number of 769 reported cases. The Mmabatho Police Station made one of the top 30 Rape Hotspot list in the country recording 46 cases of rape. We need to work
together to fight the scourge of gender-based violence and create safer communities for women and children. Cases of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide continue to have reaching ramifications in our communities. I would like to urge men to stand and lead campaigns that are aimed at raising awareness about this pandemic. But critically to play an active role in exposing and reporting these cases to law enforcement authorities. Together we can overcome this pandemic called Gender-based-violence and femicide. I thank you!
