KZN Health's HIV focus shifts to young people
The KZN Department of Health says it’s
changed tack on its HIV treatment plan.
It’s shifted its focus on reaching out to young people living with HIV.
Speaking at a World AIDS Day event in Dannhauser in the Amajuba District, MEC Nomagugu Simelane said they had to re-evaluate their strategy as they surveyed the number of people living with HIV in KZN.
She says most of their messages were geared towards the older generation.
This, she said, led to a lack of participation from the youth when it came to seeking medical help.
"One of the challenges that we are faced with in KZN is the number of people who are actually not getting into the treatment or those who are defaulting with their treatment.
READ: KZN still tops HIV/Aids prevalence rate
"We must sit down and try and come up with a researched understanding of what is making our young people shy away from treatment."
She said what they've discovered is that the messaging they are sending out to the communities is not as effective as they thought it was
