I was scheduled to visit the province of KwaZulu-Natal as the Chairperson of the South African National AIDS Council, to launch the HIV Counselling and Testing Campaign on Tuesday 23 September 2014.

Regrettably, I am no longer able to be part of this important event due to my deployment to Lesotho as SADC facilitator.  I wish however to assure South Africans and all our partners of my full commitment and support to this campaign.

This campaign is a partnership between Government and Eskom and seeks to provide Eskom’s employees, contractors and the surrounding communities with much needed comprehensive health services. As South Africans know, the national HIV Counselling and Testing Campaign was launched by President Zuma in April 2010 as a call to all citizens to take responsibility for knowing their HIV status, support those who are HIV positive and contribute to the wider response in their communities.

Government has formed strategic partnerships with key sectors, including industry, to ensure the sustainability of the campaign. In this regard, our partnership with Eskom has continued over a period of time, with similar campaigns having been done at Medupi and Kusile Power Stations previously. It is during such industrial sector campaigns where the majority of people accessing health services are men, who otherwise are very hard to reach.

Evidence has shown that since the launch of this HIV Counselling and Testing Campaign in 2010, it has contributed significantly towards saving lives.  I wish everyone involved with this particular campaign success, and look forward to participating in future campaigns with our partners.

Cyril Ramaphosa

Chairperson of the South African National Aids Council

For further information please contact Ronnie Mamoepa 082 990 4853.

Issued by: The Presidency

Pretoria