Equal rights, equal care – World AIDS Day 2024

To commemorate World Aids Day on December 1 this year, SANTHE collaborated with the Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), and the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), to host a panel discussion, held at UKZN’s Medical School in Durban, South Africa. The event allowed the 100-strong audience of researchers, students and clinicians to hear from, and interact with, speakers reflecting on the 2024 theme, “Equal Rights, Equal Care”. Chairing the discussion was Siya Nzimande-Siyabonga Nzimande, Head of Health Unit at the Enhancing Care Foundation (ECF), and panellists included SANTHE’s own Programme Director, Professor Thumbi Ndun’gu, as well as Patrick Mdletshe, Head of Community Programmes at CAPRISA, Dr Nokukhanya Msomi, Head of Virology at UKZN’s School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, Associate Professor Limakatso Lebina, Director for Clinical Trials at AHRI, and Thobeka Mzimela, Secretary of the Campus HIV/AIDS Support Unity (CHASU) at UKZN. HIV prevention, and specifically Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), was identified as a major area where South Africa is lagging behind in achieving an AIDS-free society. All speakers agreed that effective tools exist, but not all people have information or access, and these gaps will need to be bridged to meet the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) vision of ending AIDS by 2030.