Anova Health Institute’s Health4Men initiative received an overwhelming response at the Trimpark last Saturday, when about 150 MSM (men who have sex with men) got tested for HIV, STIs, tuberculosis, and hypertension. According to Georginah Seseane, Anova Health Institute outreach worker, they held health talks with men who attended and were tested. ‘We advised them to be responsible and engage in safe sexual practices by using condoms and using them properly. We also told them about the 2020 UNAIDS strategy to have 90 per cent of all people living with HIV know their status by 2020 and the same percentage with diagnosed HIV infection receiving sustained antiretroviral therapy. In that year, 90 per cent of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy should have viral suppression. Seseane advises everyone to get tested and know their HIV status. ‘Men should also get circumcised for hygiene purposes and to minimise the risk of HIV/Aids,’ she says.

Health4Men is an innovative project of the Anova Health Institute. It was established in 2008 to take the lead in South Africa’s response to HIV among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM).