Citing a United Nations report that says Aids is the leading cause of death for adolescent girls and women aged between 15 and 49 years, South Africa’s Deputy President David Mabuza on Wednesday said empowering women was key to fighting against HIV/AIDS.
Mabuza said this when he joined other nations in celebrating World Aids Day to shine the spotlight on the empowerment of women and girls to take charge of their sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as part of the war in the HIV/AIDS fight in the country.
Mabuza, speaking in his capacity as chairperson of the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC), said unless this phenomenon was curbed, there would continue to be serious barriers to HIV and TB testing, prevention, access to treatment, care and the mitigation of the impact of these epidemics.
The UN report says five out of six new infections in Sub-Saharan Africa were among adolescent girls aged 15 to 19, while teenage girls and young women between ages of 15 and 24 accounted for 24 percent of HIV infections despite them representing only 10 percent of the population, he said.
He has since described the Statistics South Africa report that more than 34,000 teenage girls gave birth in 2020, of which 688 were younger than 10 years of age as concerning and a source of shame.
“We cannot even begin to characterise this as teenage pregnancy — but acts of crime that need to be prosecuted. We must stand up against this social ill and call on law enforcement agencies to track these violations,” Mabuza said.
“Working Together to End Inequalities, AIDS, TB and Covid-19 — Get Tested. Get Vaccinated. Adhere to Treatment” is this year’s national theme for World Aids Day.
NM/as/APA