South African HIV Program on Rights of Sex Workers
The Global Fund, January 2015 - "The South African National AIDS Council said that a long-awaited HIV program catering specifically to the needs of sex workers – 60 percent of whom are estimated to be living with HIV – became firmly established during the course of 2014.
The program aims to reduce transmission of HIV to sex workers and their clients, ensure good access to social services and healthcare for sex workers, and tackle human rights abuses that make sex workers exceptionally vulnerable to HIV infection. Details of the initiative were presented to the media and public for the first time today at an event held in Newtown, Johannesburg. The introduction of a national HIV programme for sex workers finally plugs a gaping hole in our country’s response to the epidemic, said Dr. Fareed Abdullah, CEO of the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC.) (...)
Mark Dybul, Executive Director of the Global Fund, is a powerful advocate of targeted initiatives to address key populations where HIV is exceptionally concentrated. He and other leading figures in the international AIDS field argue that the ultimate goal of achieving zero new HIV infections and zero AIDS-related deaths is only achievable if the most affected geographic regions and most affected populations within these regions are prioritised." (The Global Fund)