By: Lungisa Somtombo
There were many efforts made to fight HIV and promote HIV testing in the country, however, men are still reluctant to get tested and they remain unaware of their statuses which poses a greater risk. In 2017 Melikhaya Lusiti established an organisation that will aid in bridging the gap.
Mziwamadoda Circle of Support is a non-profit organisation to encourage boys and men to get tested for HIV and Tuberculosis (TB). The main aim of the organisation is to encourage men to seek health services in general and not be afraid of going to the doctor for any medical problem.
Executive Director of Mziwamadoda Circle of Support and AIDS Council Melikhaya Lusiti said, at Mziwamadoda they decided to focus on HIV testing for men because their research showed that men do not go for HIV testing and saw the need to add boys as well because they will become men in the future, they need to adapt to the idea of seeing doctors.
The organisation operates in circulation to make sure that it reaches all kinds of men around the province by going to where they are. So far it has gone to Qongqotha Village in King William’s Town, and Ward 11 in Mdantsane and is planning on visiting other areas of Mdantsane, Southernwood, Quigney, Dimbaza and other parts of King William’s Town.
Talking about how men are responding to this programme, Lusiti said the response has been amazing, whenever they engage with men about their programme they show interest. He added that on June 16 they had a netball and soccer tournament and about 40 men out of 100 got tested for HIV, TB, blood pressure and Diabetes.
“We don’t only encourage men to do HIV testing we also engage with them about Gender-based Violence and discuss ways in which we can stop it. We host dialogues about GBV and plead with men to stop abusing women, children, LGBTQIA and other men,” said Lusiti.
Further, Lusiti said they are now introducing Pre Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) to men, which is a method of HIV prevention in persons who are not HIV positive but are at high risk of contracting it by taking a pill every day, especially for men who sleep with other men.
Their biggest challenge has been getting funding and they have lost members due to lack of funding who went out to seek to pay employees.
“The funding predicament has delayed us from achieving our goals, however, we recently received support from Beyond Zero and we have started to implement the ideas we had in mind,” he said.