KZN Health MEC urges citizens to start the year on a clean slate by getting a health check-up, and for healthcare staff to be welcoming

Her message to young people

• Abstinence is not a sign that "uyibhari" (you're socially awkward)
• Avoid "vat en sit" (cohabitation) relationships and focus on your studies
There's really no pressure to start having sex

14 January 2024

KWAZULU-Natal Health MEC Ms Nomagugu Simelane has urged the people of the Province to start the New Year on a positive note, by getting a health check-up, including getting tested for HIV.

The MEC is also appealing to healthcare workers to use this time to revive their own work ethic and treat all patients with care and kindness, and not turn away those who want to get screened and tested "just because they're 'not sick.'"

"The start of the year is a very good time for everyone to start these good habits, so you can know where you stand as far as diabetes, high blood pressure, and other ailments that might turn chronic, are concerned.

"In order for men not to forget to get tested for Prostate cancer, now is a good time to go. Similarly with breast cancer, which women can examine themselves for, cervical cancer, and other ailments," said the MEC, speaking on her Department's KZN Health Chat multimedia programme in Durban recently.

"Of course, we are not saying people must only test themselves at the beginning of the year, but this is to try and build a habit because doing it at the beginning of the year helps you start on a clean slate.

This includes those who do not know their HIV status. They must go and get tested. Men must stop relying on their wives or girlfriends to 'test' on their behalf, as it were, because some couples are sero-discordant (one partner can be HIV negative, while the other is positive). So, each and every person must test for themselves.>

"We want all our healthcare workers to start the year on a positive note by deciding to treat patients well. Those who take good care of our patients, the onus is on them to ensure that those who treat patients badly are brought back in line, because if they don't do that, we all look bad. Don't keep quiet if you see your colleague mistreating a patient, because their actions have implication on all of us.

"As we continue to ask patients to get screened and tested, let it not be you, nurse or doctor, who says a patient is 'wasting my time' if they're asking to get tested."

With the Matric Class of 2023 eagerly awaiting their examination results, MEC Simelane is urging parents, guardians and the learners themselves to start psyching themselves up for the potential perils and pitfalls of life as tertiary students.

"Most of our young people have been under the care of their parents for all their lives. They know there's a curfew, they know what time they eat and so on. Now that they'll be stepping into life as tertiary education students, they'll be literally on their own, with no one looking after them.

"Co-habitation does happen. That, we know. That is why it's vital that young people who are at university must know what they've come to do. There are lots of girls, lots of boys, many distractions. They must know that behaving well and staying on the right track is entirely up to them.

"Many of these young people are still 18 or 19 years old. They're still very young. We want them to know that there's absolutely no problem in abstaining from sex. Abstinence from sex does not mean you're a bumpkin or out of tune with what is fashionable. It actually means you're smart, and you know what you want out of life."

MEC Simelane said the Department would be reviving its "Graduate Alive" programme, which is aimed at encouraging young people to behave responsibly, especially when it comes to their sexual reproductive health.

"The intention of this programme is to speak to young people about looking after themselves. We have a number of contraceptive options, such as oral contraceptives, male and female condoms, the long-acting Implanon, and there's also PrEP, which protects those who are HIV negative. Also, there is absolutely nothing wrong with women keeping condoms in their bags. It is a sign of taking responsibility.

"But abstinence trumps all, because, really, there's no pressure for young people to involve themselves in sexual activity."

ENDS Issued by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health