Encompassing HIV Prevention Within a Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Framework

On 15 September 2011, Marie Stopes South Africa, WISH Associates, Ipas South Africa, Dr Marijke Alblas, Childline South Africa and NACOSA sent a submission to the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) regarding the upcoming National Strategic Plan on HIV and AIDS, STIs and TB 2012-2016 (NSP).

Although we commend Draft Zero of the NSP as a comprehensive and useful piece of work encompassing significant learnings from the previous NSP, the limited strategies proposed to address HIV prevention are of concern.

The NSP continues to separate HIV from a broader sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) package, despite calls by several national and international organisations and academics to approach HIV prevention as part-and-parcel of SRHR. In line with the shift to a preventive health care system through the re-engineering of Primary Health Care (PHC), SRHR is a crucial component in paving the way for meaningful integration.

Our position paper proposes that effective HIV prevention strategies at a national level should be placed within a comprehensive SRHR framework. In order to improve the quality of interventions on the ground and to prevent new HIV infections, we propose the following:

• Place access to and uptake of SRHR services as a goal in the NSP;
• Include contraception as a primary factor in the combination of HIV prevention methods;
• Address sex and sexuality as a central component of HIV prevention.

The full document can be downloaded here.

Comments and questions regarding our submission can be referred to:

Sarah Osman
Head of New Business Development
Marie Stopes South Africa
E-mail: sarah.osman@mariestopes.org.za
Tel: 021 422 4096

For more about Marie Stopes South Africa, refer to www.mariestopes.org.za.