Corporate & Civil Society Fight HIV Innovatively

January 2008

Bethesda Care Givers from Dobsonville (Soweto), PUSH from Eldorado Park (JHB South), Yakha Ikusasa Manje Health Development Centre from Benoni (East Rand) were amongst organisations that received a cash incentive at a gala event at Museum Africa. This event was hosted by The AIDS Consortium to honour and recognise the hard work being done by Community Based Organisations (CBOs) often with little or no resources.

On Friday 26 October, The AIDS Consortium, in partnership with Innovation Group (one of the AC’s corporate funders) awarded cash incentives to the value of R80 000. This initiative is a partnership which brings together corporate and civil society to mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS. “The NSP calls for collaboration and an increase of the quality and scale of delivery at community level in terms of HIV programmes” said Dr. Liz Floyd, Head of the Gauteng Multisectoral AIDS Unit. “The mentorship offered through the Capacity Building Programme encourages learning and sharing of experiences, and this is what is needed in creating a focused approach that will help bring about behaviour change” she added.

Justice Edwin Cameron was honoured as a lifetime member and patron of The AIDS Consortium. In accepting the patronage, Justice Cameron commended the work done by all organisations present at the event and commended government in recognising the value added by these organisations in the fight against HIV/AIDS. He further shared with the house the momentous 10th anniversary of his antiretroviral treatment in November, enabling him to live a productive and full life. ‘We don’t have a cure’ he said, ‘but we do have treatment – and it’s up to all of us in this room to ensure that we share this good news and get everyone who needs it access to treatment’ he added.

Innovation Group expressed pride in being associated with the AC and pledged their continued support.