News | 13 May 2022
NACOSA has recently been the victim of a cybercrime attack. We would like to therefore alert all our partners and the organisations and people we work with to be extremely vigilant to potential cyber attacks, which appear to be on the rise. Never send proof of bank details or payment packs via email. Always verify by phone or in person. Be alert to potential pfishing attempts: NEVER provide passwords, PINs or banking details by email or click on a link in an email asking for such details. Be very careful about change of banking details communications – these are used…
News | 26 Apr 2022
Adolescent girls and young women in South Africa are disproportionately impacted by HIV, AIDS and other sexual and reproductive health issues. To help address this, the Deputy Minister of Basic Education, Dr Reginah Mhlaule, together with five United Nations agencies – UNAIDS, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF and UN Women – recently launched the Education Plus Initiative in South Africa to enable young women to enjoy the full benefit of education and realise their sexual and reproductive health rights. Education Plus is a high-level advocacy drive to accelerate actions and investments to prevent HIV. The initiative is a rights-based, gender-responsive action agenda…
News | 23 Mar 2022
TB is one of the world’s oldest diseases but, although it is now curable, it is still a leading cause of sickness and death globally. South Africa is one of the 30 highest burden TB countries in the world and it remains our leading natural cause of death. An estimated 167 people in South Africa lose their lives to TB every day. TB and HIV are closely linked, with over 60% of people with active TB also living with HIV. PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY South Africa’s rates of active TB are some of the highest in the world, a situation that…
Factsheet, News, Publications | 17 Mar 2022
South Africa’s medicines regulator, SAHPRA, has approved the new vaginal ring for use by women ages 18 and older to reduce their HIV risk. This is a major milestone, bringing the first long-acting and woman-controlled product a step closer to reaching the women who need it. What is it? The Vaginal Ring is a flexible, silicon band containing the antiretroviral medicine (ARV) dapivirine. How does it work? The ring is put into the vagina every month and slowly releases dapivirine into the body to help prevent HIV infection. It works to prevent HIV in people who are HIV negative in…
News | 23 Feb 2022
Some organisations that are currently implementing Global Fund programmes as NACOSA sub-recipients were put forward to be retained for the next round of Global Fund funding which starts in April this year. These organisations have been endorsed by the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) and will be taken forward into the next round. They therefore do not need to apply for funding. Organisations were retained based on the criteria and processes set out by the CCM in the SR Selection Manual. Organisation Module District TB HIV Care People Who Use Drugs Programme City of Cape Town TB HIV Care People Who…
News | 14 Feb 2022
South Africa’s constitution and legal framework is rooted in the recognition, protection and promotion of human rights. But there are significant gaps when it comes to realising the human rights of all those who live in South Africa, particularly when it comes to HIV, STIs and TB. Some groups of people are more vulnerable to contracting HIV and TB. These same groups also face enormous barriers when it comes to accessing and staying in health and other support services. South Africa’s AIDS response has largely focused on medical models of prevention, treatment and care but while these interventions are important,…
“The axes of poverty, gender, sexual orientation, race, age and class intersect. Some are getting the benefit of science, but others are not. Some are getting quality people-centered services, but others are not. We must therefore focus our efforts on addressing inequality in access and inequality in outcome…” – UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima Despite the significant gains that have been made in the AIDS response over the past 40 years, the most marginalised people continue to be disproportionately impacted: young women, sex workers, transgender people, men who have sex with men, people who use drugs and others like migrants…
News | 8 Feb 2022
As a result of an enormous public outcry, as well as civil society mobilisation, President Ramaphosa announced the Emergency Response Plan in 2019 to address gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), including strengthening the legislative framework. In January this year, the President signed into law new legislation with a “victim-centred focus”, aimed at addressing the extremely high levels of GBVF in South Africa. For victims of GBV and those working with victims in communities, these new measures are important to understand. The new laws include: Introducing new definitions of controlling behaviour and coercive behaviour The definition of domestic violence has been expanded…
News, Publications | 15 Dec 2021
It has been 40 years since the first cases of what would become known as AIDS were identified in the United States and 30 years since the National AIDS Convention of South Africa, which would evolve into NACOSA. What have we learned about tackling HIV, AIDS and other public health crises? “Our experience of battling a pandemic like HIV set us on a solid footing when it came to dealing with the arrival of Covid-19.” – Dr Saadiq Kariem, Chairperson “NACOSA’s long history within the AIDS response, its resilience and adaptability over this difficult period has meant that the organisation…
News | 9 Dec 2021
Update: On 28 December 2021, community activists won their court application for an interim interdict blocking any seismic surveys of the ocean until a ruling can be made on whether further environmental authorisation is needed. A week later, the ship contracted by Shell to conduct the surveys left South African waters after Shell announced it had terminated the contract for the survey vessel early due to ongoing legal hearings and a limited weather window. In light of these developments, NACOSA will suspend its boycott of Shell products and service stations. We continue to stand in solidarity with marginalised communities and…
