• September 12, 2008

He walks into the Nelson Mandela Foundation offices oozing self-confidence and charm, greeting people and smiling. This is the velvet-voiced Loyiso Bala, R&B star and 46664 ambassador. But soon he’s biting his lower lip as a nurse pricks his finger and draws a dot of blood.

“I can understand why people are scared to get tested for HIV,” he says. “It’s a daunting experience, especially if you are going for the first time.”

But it’s not the first time for Bala, and what he’s doing here is showing his support for the third National HIV, Behaviour and Health Survey being conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). This is the third household survey of this nature conducted by the HSRC since the Nelson Mandela Foundation commissioned the first survey in 2002.

The HSRC household survey is aimed at gauging the spread of HIV in South Africa, as well as gaining insight into the health-related behaviour of participants. The trends it reveals will guide policy makers in their management of the epidemic. Such trends include estimates about the number of people infected in South Africa, the number of new infections and the trends in HIV prevalence, incidence and risk behaviour.

Though respondents don’t get their HIV test results as part of the prevalence survey, the 29-year-old singer has nevertheless put his famous voice behind the call for all of us to know our HIV status., because individually and as a country, we have to know where we stand.

“The first time I got tested was to know whether I was safe or whether I should start taking ARVs so that I could have a longer positive life,” he says. “If you don’t know then it could be the end of your life and if you know, it could help prolong your life.”

Bala firmly believes that no one should be forced to get tested, but “I think that at times a little pressure is needed because chances are that if voluntary counselling and testing stations went from door to door then people would get tested”.

One of three brothers who have recently released an album called B3, Bala rose to fame in the early 2000s when he collaborated with the group Tkzee on the album Guz 2001 a compilation CD. Since then he has graced international stages and performed alongside international artists including Jamelia and Corinne Bailey Rae.

Asked what his experience has been like performing with these stars, he says: “They were so humble you forget who they are. It was a pleasure to work with them; I have great respect for them.”

Being a 46664 ambassador, chosen by Nelson Mandela, Bala says, is an honour and privilege.

“I feel so humbled and I could never ask for a better platform.”

He met Madiba as a 14-year-old student at the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir School.

“He spoke to me for about 20 minutes, asking me where I was from, my clan name and telling me stories of his clan. He became a role model to me because he had achieved greatness,” Bala says. 

As a 46664 ambassador, whose aim is to raise awareness about the prevention of HIV, Bala urges young people to stop thinking that they are immune to the virus.

“Always have protection. And parents should discuss HIV at home – that’s what makes a difference.”

Musicians have often been associated with sex, drugs and alcohol, so are they the right people to be driving the message of HIV prevention?

Bala says it’s all in the power of music.

“Music draws people – you will never get 50 000 people to a stadium unless there is music. It’s a generalisation to label musicians as having a certain kind of lifestyle,” he adds.