Clinic in Mpumalanga says number of men testing for HIV/Aids has increased

A pop-in clinic in Mbombela, Mpumalanga says it has seen an increase in men coming forward and testing for HIV/Aids since 2019. The clinic says over 5 000 men have tested for the virus.

The province is second after KwaZulu-Natal with the highest rate of infections.

The clinic’s project coordinator Bonga Mbatha says they provide comprehensive care for men and ensure they get support after knowing their status.

“We provide treatment, we provide testing, couple counselling and testing, we provide preps, we also do deliveries, social support. We also do adherence counselling whereby we give support. We can move with the client able to walk on their own until they continue the journey of being on the treatment on their own. So they get into a point that they suppressed, that’s where we speak equal to you and detectible that’s where we want to get.”

Meanwhile, a patient who did not want to be named says the clinic has helped him live with HIV/Aids. He says he is getting a lot of support from the clinic.

“I decided to do personal testing, HIV testing, hence I’ve said it before that I’ve already cancelled. I got to experience the death of my two beloved brothers due to the reluctancy to take medication, so I saw how painful it was till their last breath on earth. I was like and say don’t want to see myself going through such so I decided that I need to test while I was still able and willing.”

World Aids Day full interview: