Zuma to unveil new HIV/Aids plan

PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma is expected to unveil the government's new four-year plan to fight HIV/Aids on World Aids Day on Thursday in Zwide, Port Elizabeth.

Ministry of Health spokesman Fidel Hadebe said: ''The new national strategic plan for 2012 to 2016 will be unveiled and President Zuma will also be pushing the testing campaign ."

Hadebe said in the run-up to World Aids Day, the ministry had embarked on door-to-door campaigns to raise awareness around HIV and Aids. He said the latest statistics on HIV/Aids would also be released on the day.

This year's global theme ''Getting to Zero" will run until 2015 and the campaign promotes zero Aids-related deaths, zero new infections and zero discrimination.

According to a 2011 Jointed United Nations Programme on HIV/Aids report, new infections and Aids-related deaths fell to their lowest levels since their peak in 1997 and 2005, respectively.

In SA, 2010/2011 figures revealed that 2.1-million people had tested HIV positive.

In 2008 more than five million people were living with Aids.