National HIV survey launched

There are an estimated 32-million HIV-positive people worldwide; 5.5-million of those people live in South Africa.

South Africa’s population has the highest proportion of HIV-positive people in the world, as well as the highest rate of new infections.

We can thank the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) for these shock statistics. Through national surveys conducted in 2002 and 2005, the HSRC has been able to get a comprehensive picture of HIV in South Africa.

On May 27, 2008, the HSRC launched the Third South African National HIV, Behaviour and Health Survey at its offices in Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban.

Critical Issues in AIDS: Dare to know

Know your status.

The HSRC estimates that of the estimated 5.5 million HIV-positive people in South Africa, only 30% know they are HIV-positive. That figure drops to 10% globally.

If there is one message Professor Leickness Simbayi could get through to South Africans, it would be to “get yourself tested and find out what your HIV-status is.”