A WORLD AIDS Day commemoration event will be held at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane on Sunday, 1 December.
Deputy President Paul Mashatile, as the chairperson of the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC), will deliver a keynote address alongside SANAC Civic Society Forum chairperson Solly Nduku. Buffalo City Metro Executive Mayor Princess Faku is expected to welcome all delegates to the Buffalo City region.
Some of the prominent figures expected to attend the commemoration include Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, Eastern Cape Premier Lubabalo Mabuyane, the Eastern Cape AIDS Council (ECAC) delegation, and HIV/AIDS activists advocating for equal access to healthcare for all.
World AIDS Day is an annual event commemorated worldwide on the first day of December to honour, remember, and show solidarity in the global fight against HIV/AIDS and its stigma.
This year’s World AIDS Day commemoration takes place under the national theme “Equal rights, equal care” and is in line with the global theme “To protect everyone’s health, protect everyone’s rights.”
A statement from the Presidency confirmed that South Africa has aligned itself with the international community in anchoring the World AIDS Day commemoration on the protection of human rights, as the theme calls for equal and equitable access to dignified healthcare.
Nduku urged all South Africans to attend the commemoration as SANAC works towards eliminating HIV stigma and promoting health equity.
The Eastern Cape AIDS Council is a multi-stakeholder council established in 2000 to coordinate multi-sectoral responses to HIV/AIDS, TB, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the province.
