Disease Warriors
Deep in rural South Africa, 300 kilometres from Durban and the impressive Moses Mabhida stadium, 24-year-old Nobuhle Mkhize is walking her two kids to the local health clinic.
It’s a trip she’s well used to. While pregnant with her first son, Nobuhle was diagnosed HIV positive. She was just 18 years old. “It was so difficult when I found out. I was crying all the time and I thought my baby and I would die,” she explains.
South Africa has the highest number of HIV and AIDS cases in the world, with around 1,000 South Africans dying from the disease every day. Nobuhle’s nightmare is one faced by nearly 1 in 3 pregnant women in this country.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup represents a moment when the eyes of the world will be upon South Africa and its leading role on the international stage. The World Cup can also shine a spotlight on the HIV epidemic, marking a turning point in South Africa’s response to the disease.
The foundations for this change have already been laid. Over the past year, the South African government has ramped up efforts to revitalise the national health system, promising quality healthcare for all. It has also launched a mass mobilisation campaign to counsel and test 15 million South Africans by June 2010. As a result, it is anticipated that an additional 2.3 million people will start treatment by 2012.
The British government has also been doing its bit. Through the Department for International Development (DFID), the UK has worked with the South African government and civil society to strengthen health systems to deliver better access to treatment, prevention, care and support.
DFID has also helped to increase access to the best defence against HIV – condoms. In March this year, the UK gave 42 million condoms to the country to help bring down the rate of infection.
Andrew Mitchell, UK International Development Secretary, believes that the World Cup is a vital opportunity to bring the epidemic to the world’s attention. “We need to make sure that, after the last football fan boards the plane home, there is a legacy of support left behind for the people of South Africa, and their battle against the disease.
That is why the UK Government is proud to be South Africa’s partner in its attempt to tackle HIV and AIDS and turn the tide on the epidemic that has affected so many families,” he explains.
This vital work makes a difference, as Nobuhle Mkhize can testify. On discovering she was HIV positive, Nobuhle was able to walk the few miles to her nearest health clinic – just one of thousands across South Africa set up by the government. Timely testing, counselling and treatment provided by the clinic saved her unborn child from HIV. Today, both her children are HIV negative and she is responding well to treatment.
“The counsellor was very supportive. He encouraged me to attend a support group for HIV positive women and to seek correct treatment,” she explains. “Without this, the baby would have come out being positive, because I wouldn’t have known anything about what I needed to do to keep me and my baby healthy.”
While there is still a lot more to be done to stop the spread of HIV, Nobuhle’s story offers hope that there is a way out of this crisis.
For more information about the work of the UK Department for International Development, visit www.dfid.gov.uk.
Key Facts on HIV in South Africa
• 5.7 million people live with HIV in South Africa.
• On average, nearly 1 in 3 pregnant women are HIV positive.
• There are an estimated 1.4 million AIDS orphans in South Africa.
• 60% of people living with HIV and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa are women.
• Economically the disease burden slows economic growth by 0.5% of GDP each year.
Story © DFID
