UNAIDS welcomes SA’s National Sex Worker HIV Plan
UNAIDS has welcomeed the roll-out of South Africa’s National Sex Worker HIV Plan, 2016–2019.
Launched by the Deputy President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, in his role as the Chairperson of the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC), this plan will ensure equitable access to health and legal services for sex workers in South Africa.
The plan includes making HIV testing available and accessible for sex workers.
Sex workers who test HIV-positive will be offered antiretroviral therapy. Sex workers who are HIV-negative will be offered antiretroviral medicines to prevent HIV infection—pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)—in combination with other HIV prevention services.
According to UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé, sex workers experience a disproportionate burden of HIV, sexually transmitted infections, tuberculosis, violence, and stigma and discrimination.
“This progressive plan outlines a comprehensive and nationally coordinated response that is tailored to their specific needs and includes a core package of services for sex workers, their partners, their clients and their families,” said Sidibé.
As well as delivering access to health services to prevent and treat HIV, sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis, the plan also aims to provide sex workers with access to justice and legal protection services.
These services will be made available through a combination of peer educators, community-driven outreach and referrals, and specialized clinics, as well as through primary health-care clinics, with training for all health workers.
“South Africa continues to lead and innovate,” said Sidibé.
“By listening to sex workers and collaborating with the community, South Africa’s tailor-made national HIV plan offers real hope for sex workers, who are often left behind in the AIDS response.”
He said the results of the Integrated Biological and Behavioural Surveillance survey demonstrated that HIV prevalence among female sex workers can be as high as 72 per cent in South Africa, but with marked variation in prevalence between different urban settings.
“Comprehensive HIV combination prevention, treatment and care services therefore needs to reach people who are at higher risk. Ending the AIDS epidemic relies on leaving nobody behind.”
UNAIDS
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.
UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organisations and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.
