South Africans have been urged to wear a red ribbon every Friday as part of raising awareness about HIV and Aids in the build up to World Aids Day on 1 December.

The red ribbon is a symbol of solidarity and commitment to the fight against HIV and Aids.

The South African National Ads Council is further calling on employers to organise HIV testing services and host talks on HIV and Aids on Fridays in their workplace.

South African National Aids Council Chief Executive Officer, Doctor Sandile Buthelezi says this should encourage people to take responsibility for preventing the spread of HIV.

“The red ribbon Friday is a call to all South Africans to get behind World Aids Day 2017 and actually put prevention of HIV and TB back in the agenda because we feel there is a bit of complacency that we now see when it comes to talking about HIV specifically, the issue about prevention which is worrying us a lot. With so many interventions in place, but we still see quite a large number of new infections in SA.”