Pretoria – About 6 000 employees in the Free State Education Department are expected to volunteer to test for HIV as the department embarks on a HIV and Aids campaign in five districts.
Department spokesperson Howard Ndaba said the campaign, which will see employees tested for HIV and receive counseling, will start in Motheo District, with other districts to follow between April and June 2011.
The campaign forms part of the government’s HIV Counseling and Testing (HCT) campaign launched in April last year by President Jacob Zuma.
The objectives of the campaign are to mobilise people to know their HIV status; support people with key prevention interventions in order to take proactive steps towards a healthy lifestyle – irrespective of their HIV status; increase the incidence of health-seeking behavior, as well as increase access to treatment, care and support services.
Since the launch of the HCT campaign, eight million people have received counseling, with more than seven million being tested by March 2011.
In continuing with the fight against HIV, the campaign has since been launched in higher education learning institutions around the country, and targets to get more than 30 000 first year students. – BuaNews
