According to Statistics South Africa, an estimated 7.8 million people were living with HIV in South Africa in 2023.
Just under 5.9 million people were estimated to be on treatment.
On Monday, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) released the key findings of the Sixth South African HIV Prevalence, Incidence, and Behaviour Survey for the North West province.
The survey found that compared to other provinces, the North West had the fifth highest HIV prevalence of 12.3% in 2022, which is estimated to be 465,000 people living with the virus.
CDC Deputy Director Paula Morgan says stigmatisation of those who are being responsible and taking their treatment is holding the province back from making progress in preventing the spread of HIV.
“From a time when treatment was not easily accessed and where there was more to spare than hope, we now have highly effective treatment that is widely and freely available; we just need people to stay on it.
“We need to focus our efforts on who does not have, not know their status, who is not on treatment and who is not virally suppressed as these are the drivers of new infections. We need to use that opportunity to teach those who are not yet in treatment about U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable) and what that message represents.
“For those that are on treatment and are virally suppressed, they should be loudly celebrated and supported and not stigmatised, they are the ones that will not transmit to their partners. The substantial data will allow us to target our efforts towards finding those that may know their status but are not on treatment or that they may not know that they are HIV infected and linking those in need of treatment and prevention services”.
Morgan stressed that a continued focus on provincial and district data collection will help inform HIV-targeted strategies that best meet communities’ needs.
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