Mpumalanga launches campaign to get more HIV positive people on ARVs

The Mpumalanga Health Department has launched the provincial HIV campaign, that aims to get more than 130 000 people on treatment.

The Ehlanzeni District accounts for the highest number of HIV positive people with many not on treatment. The aim of the campaign is to get all HIV positive people on treatment.

Recently, the provincial government managed to get 13 000 people back onto HIV treatment.

The aim of this massive campaign is to get to the 21 000 people who are missing from the system. Different sectors have pledge to support government.

The Youth Sector Civil society’s, Trudy Khumalo says they will embark on school visits to encourage learners to test for HIV.

“So, what we going to be doing is door to door dialogues, visiting schools, teaching about the importance adhering to your treatment, sticking to your treatment as you were told when you were tested and secondly trying to reach those who are lost on treatment. They have tested positive, with some deciding to stop their medication for other reasons and some maybe they tested but never initiated or were given medication. So, in our intervention we trying to get those people to come back to our facilities so that they get their treatment.

Sifiso Nkala from the NGO People living with HIV, speak about the importance of testing and people knowing their status as early as possible.

“It’s important that we provide HIV literacy to everyone living with HIV and ensure that those that living with HIV know the impact of starting ARVs early as possible because they might get drug resistance before it takes to long for one. With 10 years you must have the resistance if you didn’t start early so once you start early, you might live more than twenty years.”

The Men Society in Mpumalanga has encourage men to go tested and those, who were on treatment to start taking their medicines.

The organisation’s provincial deputy chairperson Peter Mathebula, “We know that men are not concerned when it comes to issues of their health. One of those issues that is the last object when comes to their health, so today as men we have launched a campaign that is ‘Better men for tomorrow’, we need to make sure we engage men, including boys.”

Mpumalanga Health MEC Sasekani Manzini is optimistic that the campaign will help trace people who defaulted on their HIV treatment.
They managed to get 13 000 people back on their treatment the MEC says.

“In this number of 121 000, is those people who have taken treatment before and defaulted and those that they have never taken treatment. So, that stats we also do have so hence we are rolling out a massive campaign and we are encouraged, already we can see that we were able to get those numbers, the 13 000 or so people. As much as we are looking for treatment, we are still preaching the message of saying, prevention is more important and those who have tested they don’t feel any pain they feel they are fine, they don’t even go to take treatment that is the main challenge.”

The Mpumalanga Department of Health,led by MEC Sasekani Manzini, launched the Closing 1.1 Million HIV Treatment GAP Campaign today, at Rob Ferreira Hospital in the City of Mbombela.This campaign was Initially launched by Minister,Dr Aaron Motsoaledi. pic.twitter.com/PI1gN9UODQ

— Mpumalanga Health (@MpuHealth1) May 16, 2025

The country intends to introduce 1.1 million people living with the virus to this life saving treatment by the end of 2025.