Khayelitsha kids have fun while learning how to stay healthy

The event was organised by the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), two civil society organisations that have been at the forefront of the response to the HIV/Aids epidemic.

“When it comes to HIV/Aids not everyone is comfortable with the subject, but I feel such events go a long way in changing people’s mindset,” said Pumeza Runeyi of MSF. “We encourage people to know their HIV/Aids status. There is life after you test positive. You can have children. You can work or go to school,” she said.

An organisation called TB/HIV Care Association was offering HIV tests to people in the hall. Between 11am and 1pm, the organisation had already tested about 60 people. “By 2020 we expect everyone to know his or her status, irrespective of age. We expect everyone to know that HIV/Aids is manageable. This message should be passed on to the youth since HIV has hit them hard,” said Priscilla Tshandu, a nurse with the organisation.

Mew Way Hall was packed with children having fun.

The Desmond Tutu HIV Centre was also offering HIV tests at the venue.

Thembisa Bob from Khayelitsha Site C lives with HIV. She said: “Please know your HIV status. It is important. If you have tested positive, please take your medication as prescribed.”

Thembisa Bob is the woman depicted in the mural. She is also the woman in the photograph.

The Chief Director of Health Programmes for the Western Cape Government, Dr Tracey Naledi, also encouraged people to get tested, and if HIV-positive, to take the prescribed medicines. She said, “Please do not get involved in sexual activities early. If you get involved please shout ‘No Condom No Sex!’”

MSF has just launched a book that tells the story of the organisation’s fight for AIDS medicines. Titled No Valley Without Shadows: MSF and the fight for affordable ARVs in South Africa, the book is co-written by well-known author Liz McGregor. The electronic version of the book is available for free.

UNAIDS estimates that as of 2014 over 6.5 million people in South Africa were living with HIV. As of March 2015, the Department of Health estimated that over 3.1 million people are on antiretroviral treatment (page 36), the medicines that restore life-expectancy of people with HIV to almost normal. More than 9.5 million people were tested in the 2014/15 financial year (page 10).

A recent study showed that people with HIV should start taking antiretroviral medicines as soon as possible. Previously, medical advice was to wait until a person’s CD4 count — a measure of the immune system’s strength — had declined to 350. It is expected that Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi will soon announce an update to South Africa’s HIV treatment guidelines to take into account this new knowledge.

The Zip Zap circus is always a hit in Khayelitsha.