The NSP is governments reaction to the increasing number of STIs. South Africa has faced an HIV/Aids epidemic for years. But STIs don’t just stop at HIV. There are many STIs, and alongside high HIV rates, infections like chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and herpes are increasing.

Because many STIs go untreated, they progress into more serious STDs. As a result, AIDS, MUS, PIDS, cervical cancer and tuberculosis remain major causes of illness and death in South Africa.

Government created a plan to address these issues and attempt to reduce our infection rates, however with still a few years to see this plan come to an end, there has been little improvement on our stats and governments plans have not fully achieved what they were set out to achieve. There is concerning considering that the NHLS has a massive backlog and have been struggling with budget cuts from government.

The situation seems dire which is why the private sector has been asked to assist, but in reality it is not just testing that will assist in fighting the STI epidemic in our country. It’s education on sexual health and the use of condoms. We need to break stigmas and combat misconceptions around sexual health and encourage people to make better choices.

https://sanac.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/SANAC-NSP-2023-2028-Web-Version.pdf