Students Participate in First Things First HCT Campaign

BY: .

UKZN’s Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine Hosted a First Things First Campaign aimed at encouraging first year Medical students to know their HIV status.

The three-day campaign attracted a number of first years and first time testers who wanted to volunteer for HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT).

The annual campaign is organised by Higher Education AIDS (HEAIDS) universities in the country.

Event organizer Ms Eleanor Langley said UKZN had run the campaign on its five campuses over a two week period since 2011.

‘The object of the exercise is to invite service providers on site to offer HIV Counselling and Testing to the University community, especially first years and first time testers,’ said Langley.

The Medical School SRC President, Mr Gift Mlangeni, and Miss UKZN, Mpume Nkosi, took the lead in motivating students to make good use of this opportunity to know their HIV status and to volunteer for HCT.

Mlangeni said as a leader it was important to lead by example: ‘I wanted my fellow students to be aware that knowing your status is important and doing an HIV test is the right thing to do.’ 

Nkosi said: ‘It is important for the youth to know their status and it will also help decrease the pandemic.’

Langley said all campuses ran the programme this month which will culminate in one big closing event on the Pietermaritzburg campus on March 27.

All UKZN Colleges were encouraged to motivate their staff and students to take advantage of the opportunity during the campaign even though HCT will continue to be offered throughout the year at all the clinics and Campus HIV and AIDS Support Units.

‘Be part of this national HEAIDS campaign, do everything to be responsible in reducing the spread of HIV and participate in the fight to eliminate this pandemic,” said Langley.

Nombuso Dlamini