Gauteng Aids Council visits communities in the Ekurhuleni
After deliberations at a closed AIDS council meeting held in Germiston recently, councillors and representatives from the Gauteng AIDS Council (GAC) visited communities in Ekurhuleni to profile the ward based multi-sectorial services rendered by the municipality.
The visits were aimed at giving the City of Ekurhuleni the opportunity to demonstrate its work in the fight against HIV and AIDS, sexually transmitted infections, tuberculosis and other opportunistic diseases with the Provincial Government and the GAC.
Sethokga Hostel in Tembisa was one of the stops during the door-to-door visits, where there are residents who are disabled and others who receive chronic medication.
One of the patients visited was 48-year-old Fana Matloa who recently completed a six-month TB treatment regime. He is also diabetic and unemployed and thus depends on assistance from government to survive.
Matloa receives support from Naome Malapile, a community development worker in his area, who is responsible for ensuring that he takes his medication and also delivers food parcels to him.
“I receive a stipend from the government and food parcels once a month,” said Matloa.
“I really witnessed how helpful the state is when I was on TB medication.”
“Without the food parcels I receive, I wouldn’t be able to take my TB medication and I would possibly be dead by now,” he added.
Amongst the stakeholders present was SASSA. They were there to ensure that residents at the hostel have ID documents and to identify those who experience problems receiving government grants.
The only major concern reported to the AIDS Council was the high level of crime and substance abuse in the area.
According to Solomon Chaba, leader at the hostel, the major concerns are caused by the high rate of unemployment.
