On Wednesday, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde, who is also the Chairperson of the Provincial AIDS Council, announced that he would undergo an HIV test and the associated counselling, in the run-up to World AIDS Day.  The aim was to encourage people to take responsibility for their health, and find out their status

TB HIV Care were invited to be a part of the event and were represented by Prof Harry Hausler (CEO), Ellenize Harribi (Professional Nurse Counsellor), Glenn Bradley (Internal Communications Coordinator) and Anelisiwe Piliso (Communications Intern).  Media present included the Cape Argus, and Cape Town TV.

Ellenize set up the testing environment, conducted the pre-test counselling and oversaw the testing process. The test was administered by the Western Cape Minister of Health, Dr Nomafrench Mbombo.

Dr Nomafrench reiterated the purpose and message behind the occasion.

“The message today is not about the outcome, whether you are positive or negative.  The purpose is about getting tested.”

Prof Harry Hausler was interviewed by Cape Town TV and was asked about general HIV statistics and HIV self screening. He had the following to say about the event:

“It’s really great to see the leadership in this province being involved in speaking about HIV and raising awareness about it and leading by example by getting tested for HIV.”

You can view a video on the event here.