Ekurhuleni - The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality's HIV and AIDS Indaba is set to examine its successes and challenges in the implementation of the National Strategic Plan (NSP) on HIV and AIDS.
The indaba, which will take place on Tuesday at the Alberton Civic Centre, will assess the performance of the municipality in localising the NSP on HIV and AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections.
The NSP consists of four pillars including prevention, treatment, care and support, research, monitoring and surveillance as well as human rights and access to justice.
It would also set the Metro's agenda on HIV and AIDS for the next five years and to identify joint interventions and strategies on how to improve the Ekurhuleni HIV and AIDS programme.
Another highlight of the indaba will be the unveiling of the new Ekurhuleni HIV and AIDS Council following the reviewing of the previous structure.
The new-look council is expected to be fully representative of all stakeholders in the fight against the dreadful disease.
Themed "Together we can do more in the fight against HIV and AIDS", the event will be attended by 1 000 delegates including local government leaders, civil society, private sector, traditional healers and other partners.
Meanwhile, the municipality has arranged four other main HIV and AIDS campaigns for the year, which are expected to reach at least 300 000 locals.
About 106 000 households will be visited through door-to-door campaigns and at least most of the 17 000-strong employees of the council will be reached via the workplace programme.
A further 80 000 people are projected to be tested for HIV.
In his State of the Nation Address in Cape Town on Wednesday, President Jacob Zuma said government has set a target of having 80 percent of HIV-positive people in the country on antiretroviral treatment by 2011 and also aim to reduce the rate of new HIV infections by 50 percent by 2011.
President Zuma said government was concerned at the deterioration of the quality of health care, aggravated by the steady increase in the burden of disease in the past 15 years.
He said government had to work together with stakeholders to improve the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan for the Treatment, Management and Care of HIV and AIDS which aims to reduce the rate of new HIV infections by 50 percent by the year 2011.
"We have set ourselves the goals of further reducing inequalities in health care provision, to boost human resource capacity, revitalise hospitals and clinics and step up the fight against the scourge of HIV and AIDS, TB and other diseases," President Zuma said.
