Know your status

MOSESETJANE - Mosesetjane Get Them Reading (MGTR) is working hard to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. The organisation recently celebrated World AIDS Day (1 December) by reflecting on those who lost lives to AIDS and encouraging attendees to get tested.
This event emphasised the importance of HIV testing for all people ages 18 to 64 and encouraged all adults to get tested for HIV.
Know Your Status is a motive used as a prevention campaign designed to motivate all people to get tested for HIV and knowing their status.
“We wanted to deliver message that says HIV testing should be part of everyone’s regular health routine to keep ourselves and our community healthy,” says MGTR chairperson Fussy Kekana.
“It may not always be easy to talk about HIV/AIDS but we must talk openly about it to protect our community. By learning facts about HIV and talking about how to protect ourselves, our loved ones and our community, we can help increase awareness, decrease stigma and playing a significant role overall,” says Kekana.
MGTR ensures to re-double their efforts to assure that all people know about HIV, how to prevent transmission, know their status and that people with HIV are linked to care, and treatment and prevention services.
World AIDS Day is significant to MGTR’s mission, as behaviour associated with substance use and lack of literacy are risk factors to HIV.
MGTR is a leading agency that engages pupils and dropouts in reading and helping to eradicate substance abuse amongst youngsters.
Maubate Thalakgale, Vodacom Change the World representative said the network provider and Red Cross Society are working together towards the end of HIV.
“The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals aim to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 and this can be achieved when we are working together as a community through increased availability in educational programmes and content regarding,” she says.