December the 1st is World AIDS Day. This year, Independent Renewable Energy Power Producer Longyuan Mulilo De Aar Wind Power will support World Aids Day activities in De Aar as an extension of its Mobile Health Clinic Project that already provides free school health screenings, with a focus on primary health care, dental and optometry services in the Emthanjeni and Renosterberg Municipalities of Northern Cape, South Africa.
Providing mobile clinics to those displaced, isolated and otherwise unable to reach the main facilities helps to provide services that ultimately reduce HIV infections. Longyuan Mulilo will launch several activities in the communities including HIV awareness raising, lectures, free HIV testing, competitions and prize winning games.
South Africa’s HIV epidemic has been one of the largest in the world. Currently, 7.7 million people are living with HIV, with 4.8 million of those people on antiretroviral drugs (ARV). The ARV programme therefore reaches just 62% of those who need treatment, meaning a staggering 2.9 million people are yet to receive this life-saving treatment.
“This presents an opportunity for both public and private partnerships to work together to benefit those in need,” said the Longyuan Mulilo management.
As we approach World AIDS Day, we believe it is time to invest, innovate and integrate HIV services with broader health care and the pandemic response.
“In addition to this, we need to prioritise addressing HIV-related stigma and discrimination that is prevalent in communities. Without addressing the issue of stigma and discrimination, we cannot successively increase HIV prevention, testing or treatment nor can we reach our goals of ending AIDS by 2030,” said the Longyuan Mulilo management.
We urge all stakeholders to continue to find innovative solutions to testing, service delivery and the management of HIV. We will follow the principle that no one should be left behind. Therefore, it is about upholding people’s rights, working with and taking the lead from communities.
Let us re-energize efforts to achieve global health and end the AIDS epidemic.
Together, we can do more.