HIV/Aids

Everyone in South Africa is encouraged, from individuals to communities, businesses and government, to take personal and collective responsibility to stop new HIV infections, to give care and support to those with HIV, and to ensure access to treatment for people in need.

This document contains information on the management of HIV/AIDS in schools and the rights and responsibilities of learners, educators and parents with regards to HIV/AIDS. Answers are provided to some of the common questions such as whether HIV positive learners can be excluded from school, whether schools can test learners for HIV and how schools can prevent the risk of HIV transmission in the school environment. Advice is also provided on drafting a school HIV/AIDS policy.

Mother-to-child transmission of HIV is the most common way young children contract the virus and happens when HIV is passed from a mother to her unborn baby during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding.  An effective Prevention of Mother to Child Transmissions (PMTCT) programme requires mothers and their babies to:

Voluntary Testing and Counselling (VCT) is available at ATICC, as well as at most clinics of public health facilities. The decision to be tested is a voluntary one - no one can be forced to have an HIV test. The three main steps to be followed are pre-test counselling, testing and post-test counselling.