KHOPOTSO: The goodwill of South Africans is once again being called upon as the third South African National HIV, Behaviour and Health Survey gets underway. Groups of research nurses will travel the length and breadth of urban and rural South Africa over the next four to five months visiting homes unannounced. The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) is leading the research project which seeks to reach 28 000 people and 15 000 homes. Chief Executive Officer of the HSRC is Dr Olive Shisana.

Dr OLIVE SHISANA: We call on all South Africans to open their homes should they be selected to participate. When they see a nurse coming in there’€¦ I would really hope that we are all going to open our doors and allow them to come in and collect the information that is necessary. We encourage all South Africans to participate to help us find answers so (that) we can be able to prevent new infections.        

KHOPOTSO: The research seeks participants from under the age of two as well as adults. There will be questionnaires to be answered and bloods taken for HIV testing. Participants will be anonymous and will take part voluntarily. Two similar studies have already been conducted in the past ‘€“ in 2002 and 2005. Shisana says the objectives are ten-fold. Five of these are critical to studying the levels of HIV infection and factors that put individuals at risk.

Dr OLIVE SHISANA: To help us to estimate the number of people who are infected with HIV in South Africa; and the second one is to estimate the number of people who are newly infected. In other words, they were newly infected within the last six months’€¦ The third one is to study social and behavioural factors that are related to HIV infection’€¦ The fourth one is to describe trends in HIV prevalence, HIV incidence and risk behaviour. And we are doing this because we want to see over a period of time ‘€“ are we actually making a difference insofar as reducing the number of infections, changing the behaviour of people in South Africa. Objective number 5 is to help us to assess the link between the social values and cultural determinants and HIV infection. (The) concern here is that no matter what messages we give to people, if the social values and the cultural values that determine the behaviour are not changing, we are unlikely to make a difference.

KHOPOTSO: The survey is also important to guide policy and programmes aimed at dealing with HIV and AIDS, including monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the country’€™s National Strategic Plan on HIV and AIDS and STIs, which aims to halve the number of new HIV infections and have 80% of those who need AIDS treatment on appropriate medication by 2011.  

Dr OLIVE SHISANA: We think the information we are collecting will be useful for government and civil society to inform them in terms of how they design their HIV prevention programmes as well as the programmes that are directed to people living with HIV/AIDS.

KHOPOTSO: Shisana once again pleaded with citizens ‘€“ across all racial groups ‘€“ to open their doors to researchers. She raised concern that in the past, certain racial groups failed to co-operate.  

Dr OLIVE SHISANA: Among whites and many of the Indians, they tend to believe that HIV/AIDS is not a problem that is prevalent in their own communities. They believe it’€™s somebody else’€™s problem – not their own group. And therefore, they are refusing to participate. It is very important to encourage them because the epidemic may spread in their group without even noticing it. By the time we wake up we may find that we’€™ve got a bigger epidemic than really should be because of the fact that no one designed any programmes for them because they think the problem doesn’€™t exist.

KHOPOTSO: A number of high-profile South Africans in the entertainment industry have lent their support to the project. Hlubi Mboya plays an HIV-positive character in Isidingo, a popular soapie on TV.

HLUBI MBOYA: Sometimes, you see, people just need a shove in the right direction and being on television, being a spokesperson, being a role model’€¦ just means that I’€™m giving them the room to not feel afraid, to have some kind of backing behind them that ‘€œI’€™m doing something good’€. We could help each other and we could help the country as a whole. And that’€™s basically my role in doing what I do, especially with HIV/AIDS. It’€™s just trying to kick-start a really good thing for our country.

KHOPOTSO: Results of the survey will be released at the end of the year.