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In South Africa, Oxfam Australia is responding to the devastating impact of HIV and AIDS, ensuring people have enough food for an active and healthy life and promoting gender equality. This work is done in collaboration with around 40 partner organisations in Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces to support some of the country's most vulnerable people.
Our focus
HIV and AIDS and gender
HIV and AIDS are one of the biggest challenges facing South Africa. According to the latest government survey, more than 5.6 million people are infected with the virus – most are aged between 20-45 years. This has grave consequences for the country.
Our work aims to lessen the impacts of the disease by strengthening civil society's response to HIV and AIDS. We do this by supporting integrated community-based services for HIV prevention and care, focusing on gender and sexuality, and the rights of people living with HIV and AIDS.
In South Africa, gender inequality makes women less able to have a say in sexual relations and more vulnerable to HIV infection. Women are also the main care givers for people with AIDS-related illnesses.
Through our HIV and AIDS program we are working with adults and children of both sexes to address gender inequality. For example, we are educating young boys before they become sexually active so that they can demonstrate responsible behaviour in the future.
Find out more about our HIV and AIDS work.
Food security
Food security refers to people's ability to access food, either by growing their own or buying food. In South Africa, HIV and AIDS have a significant impact on food security as HIV increases people's need to sell assets in return for food and medication.
Our program addresses food security in rural KwaZulu-Natal province by supporting community activities such as the setting up of community gardens, orphan care and support, and skills development training.
Child social protection
Our Southern Africa Child Social Protection program plans to develop supportive environments for HIV-affected children, other vulnerable children and youth where they can express their feelings and be supported emotionally. The program will build on existing resources to develop children's and young people's resilience, as well as the resilience of their care givers and communities.
Donate
Help us continue this work (and similar work in other countries) by making a donation:
Find out more about HIV and AIDS
Stories & photos
HIV and AIDS: our response
Oxfam's Colin Collett van Rooyen talks about our response to the HIV and AIDS crisis facing South Africa. (Audio file: 4.20 mins, 1MB MP3)
HIV and AIDS: a question of leadership
With as many as 900 South Africans dying every day because of AIDS-related conditions, communities can ill-afford any new barriers to the Government's response to HIV.
Fancy Stitch
Poor rural women in KwaZulu-Natal province are sewing their way to better incomes and greater resilience to HIV and AIDS with the help of one of our local partners.