Address by the honourable Premier RM Mtshweni-Tsipane on the occasion of the provincial observation of World AIDS Day

30 November 2022

1. Programme Director, it is an honour and a privilege to join the beautiful people of Botleng as we commemorate the 34th observance of World AIDS Day.


2. Today is an opportunity for every community to unite in the fight against HIV and AIDS, to show support for people living with HIV/AIDS and remember those who lost their lives to this epidemic.


3. On this auspicious day, we must reflect on how far we have come since the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.


4. Sisonkhe ngokwahlukana kwethu, besiphila ngokwesaba, singafuni ukusondela duze nabantu abaphila nalesisifo. Siyakhumbula futhi ukuthi bekunzima kanganani ukuphila nalesifo.


5. We remember all too well how hard people with HIV have had to fight to be seen, to be heard, and to be treated like everyone else.


6. Besingazi ngisho nokuthi ungasivikela kanjani lesifo. Besazi kuphela ukuthi isifo esibulala wonkhe umuntu, sibulale futhi nemindeni, kuso sonkhe isifundazwe sakithi eMpumalanga.


7. HIV/AIDS has struck down vibrant men and women in the prime of their lives and rapidly spread across communities in Mpumalanga and around the nation.


8. Our response to the unprecedented societal challenge that HIV/AIDS was and has been nothing short of extraordinary. Our country has the largest ARV treatment programme in the world, with approximately 5,2 million people on HIV treatment.


9. Our country, in collaboration with the Joint United Nations programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) developed the 90-90-90 targets to reduce HIV transmission by 2025.


10. The 90-90-90 targets essentially mean that 90% of people living with HIV know their status, 90% of people diagnosed with HIV infection receive sustained antiretroviral therapy and 90% of people receiving antiretroviral treatment have viral suppression.


11. The Mpumalanga Province has recorded the fourth highest HIV prevalence in the country with around 759 726 people living with HIV/AIDS. Of this number, around 717 080 people know their status.


12. A further 594 894 people are on anti-retroviral drugs and around 541 056 people have suppressed their viral load.


13. This means that the Province has scored an aggregate of 94-83-91 in terms of the 90-90-90 targets.


14. A total of 488 828 women are living with HIV across the Province, and around 407 060 are on anti-retroviral treatment. In total, around 83% of women are on antiretroviral treatment.


15. Of the 270 897 men living with HIV, only 187 834 or 69% are on anti-retroviral treatment.


16. To put this data into further context, only the Ehlanzeni District attained the 90-90-90 percentage as prescribed by the Joint United Nations programme on HIV/AIDS elimination.


17. The Gert Sibande and Nkangala Districts have a low rate of people living with HIV on anti-retroviral treatment.


18. Programme Director, we observe world AIDS day under the theme “Equalise and Integrate to end AIDS”. This theme encompasses our approach towards ensuring we improve the number of people on anti-retroviral treatment in order to achieve viral suppression and increase lifespans.


19. One of the most important tools this Province utilised to minimise the rate of infection during the Covid-19 pandemic was ensuring that our healthcare systems at all levels in the Province operated in an integrated and coordinated manner.


20. We will utilise “integration”, within our healthcare systems in order to scale up efforts to find patients who have been lost to care and are not on anti-retroviral medication.


21. We will also integrate the coordination of the District AIDS Councils in order to develop a standardised Integration plan that will end unequal access to health services, treatment and information, whilst promoting coordination, synergy and inclusivity across all districts in the Province.


22. Sizosebenzisa amandla esinawo ukuthuthukisa ezemphilo eMpumalanga ukwenzela ukuthi bonkhe abaphila nalesisifo, banakekelwe ngendlela esezingeni eliphezulu.


23. Programme Director, a couple of months ago, I had the privilege of attending the World AIDS conference in Montreal. Kwangimangaza ukubona ukuthi mkhulu kanganani umsebenzi owenziwe, wokulwisana neHIV, ngokusebenzisa amakhambi asezingeni eliphezulu.


24. The quality of anti-retroviral medication has advanced quite significantly in the last couple of years. If a person can consistently take their medication for a minimum period of 6 months, the HIV in their blood can reach undetectable levels resulting in viral suppression. Loku kusho khona ukuthi kuzofika isikhathi sokuthi abantu abaphila ne-HIV, bangayidluliseli kubalingani babo.


25. Programme Director, HIV is no longer the indomitable obstacle it once was for our people. Our people, who previously had no hope of sustained quality of life, can now live longer and are able to contribute in building the Mpumalanga of our dreams.


26. We are now bold enough to target 95 % of people in the Province knowing their status, 95% of people being on anti-retroviral treatment and 95% of our people achieving viral suppression by the year 2030.


27. This will be done placing people living with HIV at the centre of our efforts to overcome this epidemic.


28. Through the Mpumalanga AIDS Council (MPAC) and the various civic organisations as well as non-governmental organisations, we will intensify our programme on prevention.


29. We will make sure that over and above our commitment to providing anti-retroviral medication, we will also provide pre-exposure prophylaxis (PREP) as well as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to our people, especially victims of rape.


30. Sekubonakele ukuthi muva nje, abantu abahlaselwa yilesifo, abesimame, ngesizathu sokuswelakala kwemisebenzi. Loku ngumphumela wecwaningo esiluthola kwabezemphilo.


31. Ikhona indlela esingayisebenzisa ukuphelisa lenkinga. Singakwenza loku, ngokukhuthaza ukukhulumisana nelusha, ngephandle kokwesaba. We must talk openly and frankly to young people on issues of sexuality and the risks of unprotected sex.


32. As the Provincial government, we will ensure that all AIDS Councils across the Province are fully functional .


33. We will also accelerate the rollout and implementation of the Checka Impilo Wellness programme to increase the number of people we test for HIV and the number of people we successfully place on anti-retroviral programmes.


34. Programme Director, sishaya izandla, emphakathini wakithi ukuthi sikuyeke ukuxwaya labo abaphila nalesisifo.


35. We urge our communities to change social attitudes and norms around HIV and AIDS. We must embody the spirit of Ubuntu that is inherent in all of us in order to personify the change we wish to see in the world around us.


36. Sibonga kakhulu abantu esibambisene nabo, abasiza uHulumeni wethu, emzameni wokuceda lesifo eMpumalanga.


37. We are grateful for the unwavering support by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) for ensuring that our Provincial AIDS Council operates in a coherent manner.


38. We are immensely grateful for the unwavering and continued support from the PEPFAR programme and the Global Fund.


39. I wish to extend my appreciation to the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) for their tireless support to all Provinces. The role played by SANAC in coordinating a framework for our response to the HIV/AIDS and TB is often unnoticed but never unappreciated.


40. Finally, as we approach the festive season, we wish to remind all of us to take care of ourselves and act responsibly in everything we do.


41. Namhlanje ngosuku le -World AIDS Day, sikhumbula bonkhe abantu abangasekho, ababulewe yilesifo senxulaza.


42. Ake sikhumbule ukuthi sinawo thina amandla ekulwa, futhi siyinqobe i-HIV/AIDS, kulezinsuku esiphila kuzona.


43. We dare not tire from this journey until we reach the day that we know is possible, the day when all men and women can protect themselves from infection; the day when all people with HIV have access to the treatments that extend their lives; the day when there are no babies being born with HIV or AIDS, and the day we shall achieve what was once hard to imagine, an AIDS-free generation.


44. That’s the world I want for my children. That’s the world that all of us want for our families. And if we stay focused, if we keep fighting, and if we honour the memory of those that we’ve lost, if we summon the same courage that they displayed, I believe we will win this fight.


45. Siyabonga.

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