An appeal to South Africa: Make history!
LEAD AND UNITE TO STOP HIV AND AIDS!

The South African National AIDS Council (SANAC), with representation from all sectors of government and civil society, together with NEDLAC, have agreed that at 12.00 noon on World AIDS Day, Monday December 1st, the Deputy President will ask all people in South Africa to stop and observe and act on World AIDS day.

From individuals to organisations, from government departments to schools, all people will be called on to stop what they are doing so that the country can come together to focus on how we are going to stop the HIV epidemic, stop new HIV infections and stop deaths.

World AIDS Day 2008 will embody the collective commitment of our government and society to adopting a bold and brave new approach to HIV and TB. We urge you to join us on this day. Don’t wait to be asked. Talk to your organisations about what you are going to do. Act now. Forward this message.

Spread the word!
Under the theme of 'Leadership and Unity to stop HIV, AIDS and TB' the 15-minute national stoppage is an opportunity for all South Africans to think and talk about HIV and AIDS. People are encouraged to hold discussions in workplaces and school, in homes and in the streets. SANAC has produced a ‘Key Messages’ document to guide these discussion (attached or download it from the website below). World AIDS Day 2008 will be unprecedented and historic in the global history of AIDS and will inspire people in South Africa and across the world. Our vision is to use this day to promote actions that will stop HIV and to start a truly national social mobilization on HIV, AIDS and TB.

National Event on World AIDS Day
At midday the church bells of St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town will be rung to mark the start of a national minute of silence. In Durban, at Sahara stadium, the Minister of Health will then address the nation, followed by the Deputy President. They will be joined by the Executive Director of UNAIDS (Dr. Peter Piot), King Goodwill Zwelithini, the Premier of KwaZulu Natal, and leaders from civil society living with HIV. Other senior leaders - from government, civil society, business and labour - will also assemble to demonstrate unity. These speeches, will be covered live on SABC2 from 11.30am, as well as on many SABC and independent radio stations. Simultaneously around the country there will be thousands of other events.

Pledges of support:
· Current and former Archbishops of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba, Njongonkulu Ndungane and Desmond Tutu have all endorsed the mobilisation. They are calling on other religious leaders to do the same. They have called on churches to integrate messages about HIV into their services on Sunday November 30th and for all churches to ring their bells to start the minute’s silence on December 1st;
· The Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba, will hold a special service at St Georges Cathedral in Cape Town on WAD. HIV counsellors will be on hand to provide information and will also offer testing for HIV;
· A specially prepared sermon will be given in all mosques, and a special message will be sent to all Muslim schools, Muslim-owned businesses, and Muslim-run e-mail lists in South Africa;
· Former president Nelson Mandela will release a statement through his organisation 46664; www.46664.org.za, will carry key messages and actions and will be a portal where organisations and individuals can find out what they and their companies/ organisations can do during the 15-minute 'Focus on AIDS;
· Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi has endorsed the campaign;
· Judge Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, will issue a statement in support of South Africa on WAD
· The Proteas, South Africa’s cricketers, will wear red ribbons during the test match with Bangladesh;
· The UK development Minister, Ivan Lewis, is visiting South Africa over the 28th - 30th November to recognize South Africa's efforts;

Actions:
· The Red Ribbon Challenge (RRC) will culminate with the unveiling of the largest Red Ribbon in history. Khomanani has been running the RRC for the past month, getting people to talk and do something about HIV and AIDS – in an individual or community capacity.
· Members of COSATU Central Executive Committee have voluntarily tested for HIV. COSATU will also distribute 2 million pamphlets to its members encouraging VCT and prevention of mother to child HIV transmission.
· COSATU and Anglocoal will hold a large workplace event in Witbank offering testing for HIV. COSATU President Sidumo Dlamini will publicly test for HIV at the event;
· Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) has issued a circular to all member organisations encouraging them to participate in the events of World AIDS Day. The Banking Association of South Africa will hold a minute’s silence.
· All CCMA and United Nations offices will observe the 15 minutes and will send a circular to staff.
· A week long community mobilization is taking place in 3 districts in KZN;

Statement by Mark Heywood, Deputy Chairperson, South African National AIDS Council.

Reproductive Health & HIV Research Unit (RHRU)’s Community Wellness Centre in Hillbrow
Jenny Crwys-Williams profiled the Reproductive Health & HIV Research Unit, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at University of the Witwatersrand about their Community Wellness Centre in Hillbrow, on World Aids Day.

The Community Wellness Centre was launched in September 2007. The Centre is located in an old building in the heart of a deprived inner city area. Funding from the local authority’s development agency, the JDA, and private donors has made the regeneration of the building possible. This activity forms part of a larger partnership between RHRU, the Department of Health, the City of Johannesburg, the University of Witwatersrand and NGO’s to develop this run down area into a “Health Precinct”, providing a support hub for a disadvantaged community facing huge social challenges, and bearing the brunt of the HIV epidemic.

Services offered include a cyber café, income generation groups, support groups and counseling services, a 24 hour child crisis centre, and homebased care training facility. The centre also provides a headquarters for home based care services for the area, and support services for special groups such as refugees, sex workers, youth and young carers, men, women and couples.

Their needs:
• Breakfasts for the nutrition workshop and ideally the food for other workshops we will be running. In a disadvantaged (indeed deprived) community they feel they really must offer refreshments when they run community events, especially as food security and good nutrition have such a big impact on HIV outcomes. It could be a sponsor (they would be acknowledged and thanked in the newsletter and at every event) who simply gives a sum of money to be earmarked for community event catering, or it could be a donor who commits to providing sandwich platters etc.
• Prizes for a competition in their newsletter, eg a meal for two or a food hamper. Not only is this a very nice offer to the local community but running a competition enables us to capture data so that we can email or SMS people about forthcoming events, thus spreading the word of the services we are offering here. So if any corporates or local businesses want to raise goodwill in the local ommunity for a very small budget this is the way to go
• A TV and DVD player for their soon-to-be-launched resource/drop-in centre, to show AIDS Consortium DVD etc,
• Some shelving and occasional furniture (They have sofas and chairs but no coffee tables, magazine racks, that sort of thing).

If you want to assist, e-mail them on info@rhru.org,
telephone 011 358 5300, or see their website on www.rhru.co.za

Community Aids Response (CARE)
David O’Sullivan profiled Community Aids Response(CARE) on his show on World Aids Day.
Community AIDS Response (CARE) is a not-for-profit organisation supporting people living with HIV and AIDS, their families and the caregivers who help them. CARE provides a wide range of services including counselling, income generation, material support and home based care. These services are delivered by a network of professionally trained volunteers, supported by a professional staff of social workers and nurses.

Their activities include:
• Testing
• Counseling and support
• Following up on ARV defaulters
• Home based care
• Youth support groups
• Food programme
• Training
• Support groups
• Income generation projects

Their needs:
• Someone with the right skills to redesign and update their website
• An accountant to do their books
• Listeners/companies to take advantage of their income generation projects, e.g. catering, beading, sewing, gardening and garden service, car washing.
• Donations of food and clothes

If you want to assist, e-mail them on info@care.co.za,
telephone 011 728 0218 or go to their website, www.aidsresponse.co.za