Just over a million Capetonians have tested for HIV in the past year, setting a new record, the City of Cape Town said on the eve of Saturday’s World Aids Day.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of World Aids Day, and the 2018 theme is “Know your Status”.
JP Smith, the mayoral committee member for social services, attributed the success of the HIV screening programme to the public health sector’s efforts and its NGO partners.
Between September 2017 and October, 1,065,386 people were tested at city clinics, he said, and the number was expected to increase when the city introduces self-screening in the near future. The population of Cape Town is just under four million.
Even though HIV/Aids was now regarded as a chronic condition rather than a death sentence, Smith said the journey started with testing and knowing your status.