01 December is World Aids Day, and while getting tested for HIV may be the last thing on your mind as the festive season gets underway, it could help you and your partners live healthier lives.  

Almost one in six South African adults are HIV positive*. HIV testing is a critically important part of the overall fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa. So why should you get tested? Here are five good reasons:  

1. To avoid passing HIV on to others

If you have unprotected sex, you might pass the virus on to others without knowing.* Nearly one in five people living with HIV don’t know that they are infected**, if they are not suppressed on (antiretroviral) treatment, they can pass the virus on. 

The more sexual partners you have, the more likely it is that you can contract HIV. Even if you have only had one sexual partner, it is important to get tested and know your status. 

2. It’s better to know

If you’ve put yourself at risk to contract HIV in any way and are worried you might have HIV, testing is the only way to know for certain what your HIV status is. It's normal to feel unsure about testing for HIV, but having a test will help you to stop worrying about your status. You can stop losing sleep and take appropriate action when you know. 

3. A positive result means you can get access to treatment

If you test HIV positive, you can start taking antiretroviral drugs immediately. These drugs will help keep you healthy. The sooner you can take the drugs, the better chance you have of living a long life, even if you are HIV positive.  

4. Keep your sexual partners healthy

By testing for HIV regularly, you can look after the health of your sexual partners too. If you're HIV positive, you can prevent the spread of the virus by taking your antiretroviral medication correctly and using condoms. 

5. Getting tested is easy and free

Anova Health encourages all men living in and around Diepsloot, Roodepoort and Kliptown to get tested for HIV and know their status. Their project, Score4Life, provides pop-up stores that offer free, safe and totally confidential HIV testing in a queue-free, funky and friendly environment. 

Give yourself and your loved ones the best gift this festive season: take an HIV test and know your status.

Johannesburg, 1 December 2016 – A crowd of hip-hop dancers and performers gathered at Leeuwkop Prison Juvenile Rehabilitation Centre to show their support to young prison inmates. In line with World Aids Day, The Zinto Marketing Group (Zinto) gave an educational talk on practicing safe sex as well as the importance of HIV testing and antiretroviral treatment.  

The outreach programme also seeks to empower the youth as part of a rehabilitation programme aimed at supporting young prisoners while they are serving their sentences. As the initiative is driven by inmates, success relies solely on the contributions and sponsorships received from external parties.  Zinto donated the sound, stage and production for a showcase of talented singers and energetic dancers.

The performances by Self Made Dancers, Floor Rise, Keegan and Twyz encouraged unity among the prisoners. The juvenile prisoner’s choir also delivered a breath-taking rendition of ‘Nomvula’, originally written and performed by singing sensation Nathi Manka.  

The campaign forms part of Zinto’s corporate social investment where they are actively involved in the upliftment of young imprisoned youth by integrating them for a day with ordinary young citizens who make a living through the performing arts and address the issue of social reintegration.

Michelle Combrinck founder of Zinto says, “Zinto is hugely involved in social reintegration through hip-hop dance and performance which encourages young people not to get involved in crime, drug or alcohol abuse but to focus their energy on dance and any other art form as a means of achieving a natural ‘high’”.  

Zinto focuses on youth development by employing many young and upcoming artists, actors, dancers and performers by developing their expertise and experience so that they have the necessary skills and tools to grow themselves into established brands. Through music, dance, the spoken word and industrial theatre many of Zinto’s road shows communicate a message of healthy living and success through the arts.    

The ceremony ended with a candle-lit memorial service in respect of the late Nkosi Johnson who passed away from Aids at a young age in 2001. 

 For more information about Zinto, visit www.zinto.co.za

World AIDS Day will be celebrated this Thursday, 1 December 2016. UNAIDS has declared the theme ‘Hands up for #HIVprevention’ in response to the results of the Prevention Gap Report which shows high levels of new HIV infections every year.  

At the end of 2015, there were approximately 2.6 million children living with HIV around the world. Factors such as discrimination, poverty, inequality, and harsh policies and laws prevent these children from receiving the necessary testing, healthcare, life-saving commodities and support to remain HIV free. Children’s palliative care is an often forgotten component of care for these children.

Children’s palliative care is holistic care that responds to the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of a child infected with HIV as well as providing care for the child’s family. It aims to provide expert pain relief and symptom control and whatever emotional, social and spiritual support is required to enable the affected child to enjoy the best quality of life for as long as possible.  

In response to the theme ‘Hands up for #HIVprevention’, the International Children’s Palliative Care Network (ICPCN) urges people to remember the children infected and affected by HIV & AIDS and the role of children’s palliative care.   Asked to comment, ICPCN’s Chief Executive, Professor Julia Downing, said, “The provision of quality palliative care for children with HIV is essential and should be an important part of the continuum of care for children with HIV. Yet access to palliative care for children in many countries is limited, hence on this World AIDS Day it is important to focus not only on prevention as per the theme ‘Hands up for #HIVPREVENTION’ but also on the provision of care to all those children already infected – we need to ensure that all children who need it, regardless of where they live, have access to palliative care.”

{pp}Love in a Time of HIV, a film that premiered recently on the USA's 'Showtime' and that will be repeated throughout the month of December 2009, explores three separate people living with HIV and is set in New York City, Johannesburg, and London.