HIV is one virus that has a bad stigma attached to it. But unlike the olden days, HIV treatment has advanced throughout the years and it gives people living with the virus a chance to live longer and lead healthy lives.

Because of the history behind HIV, a lot of people are still not comfortable with having conversations about HIV or learning about it. But there are organisations dedicated to helping people understand HIV, get treatment and decrease stigma. Here are 4 amazing organisations that are dedicated to educating and creating awareness around HIV. 

NACOSA 

National Aids Convention of South Africa (NACOSA) is made up of a network of over 1800 organisations that work together towards a common goal –  which is to change people’s perspectives about HIV through creating a dialogue with accredited training centres, mentoring and offering technical assistance to help the youth. 

UNAIDS

UNAIDS is one of the leading global organisations that are working tirelessly towards reaching their Sustainable Development Goals of ending HIV/AIDS as a public health threat by the year 2030. One of their goals is to stop new HIV infections by ensuring that people living with HIV have access to HIV treatment so they can maintain the infection and stay undetectable – thus preventing the spread of the virus. Visit their website to learn more about their work.  

The AIDS foundation of SA 

The AIDS foundation of SA is the first AIDS Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) that was registered in South Africa back in 1988. 

Their work is aligned to UNAID’s 90-90-90 global target which challenges countries to achieve the following goals: 

• 90% of all living with HIV should receive ARV treatment 
• 90% of all people living with HIV should know their status 
• 90% of people receiving ARV therapy should have viral suppression

HIVSA Training centre 

HIV SA prides itself in empowering people, organisations and community workers to address socio-economic and health-related issues like HIV – with the main goal of creating an HIV-free generation. 

They also offer accredited and non-accredited courses for healthcare workers and they have a few projects (like Choma Magazine) that aim to educate and empower young people, as well as create awareness about HIV.

These are just a few organisations that are dedicated to fighting the prevalence of HIV. As hard as they may work towards reaching these goals, they can’t do it on their own. So I want to challenge you to create awareness by helping others understand the importance of an HIV-free generation. You can start by sharing my articles with your friends and family, and tell them to share with others.

Remember, if you or a friend need advice or help, you can contact me here on Ask Choma, send me a Facebook Message, a Twitter DM, or a WhatsApp Message (071 172 3657).