sahr2001 - Health Systems Trust

9 • Mainstreaming HIV/AIDS
Figure 3: The impact of HIV on life expectancy in selected African Countries 7
65
60
Age in years
55
50
45
40
35
1950-55
1955-60
1960-65
1965-70
1970-75
1975-80
1980-85
1985-90
1990-95
1995-2000
2001-2005
Zimbabwe
South Africa
Botswana
Uganda
Zambia
The third way of characterising the epidemic is in terms of the extent of
stigma, discrimination, blame and collective denial in the country. In SA, this
is demonstrated by the fact that while 4.8 million South Africans are infected
with HIV only 0.5% believe that there is somebody infected with HIV in
their family. 13 In the Northern Province 8% of youth do not believe in the
existence of HIV/AIDS, whilst 61% assume that AIDS is not on the increase. 14
The difficulty those who are HIV positive have in disclosing their status is
demonstrated by a survey of 726 HIV+ patients at two sites in KwaZulu-
Natal, which found that 65% and 92%, respectively, had not told anyone of
their status. 15
The National HIV/AIDS and STD Strategic Plan for South Africa
(2000-2005) and the National Integrated Plan (NIP) 2,16
The National HIV/AIDS and STD Strategic Plan for South Africa, 2000-
2005 (called National Strategic Plan) contains 37 objectives arranged in four
priority areas: prevention, treatment, care and support, research and human
rights. To ensure adequate prioritisation of the key objectives, the government
launched the National Integrated Plan (NIP) in January 2000. The NIP is a
joint venture between three Departments (Health, Social Development and
Education), intended to implement three key interventions of the National
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