South African Peer Educators Association Xoliswa Makhaye – Occupational Health Specialist

Coming together of Peer Educators  The first ever meeting was held in August 2010  Provincial Networking Committee  Launch of SAPEA in 2012

ABOUT THE ASSOCIATION Guided by the belief that every life has equal value and rights in the workplace SAPEA aims to work in assisting our friends, colleagues and society to lead healthy and informed productive lives. Mission SAPEA aims to bring together peer educators working in the South African workplaces in unifying the response on the management of HIV/AIDS STI’s and TB Vision- SAPEA aims to promote a healthy and stigma free workforce to service and grow the South African Economy

Provincial Events  KZN has approx 250 registered Peer Educators  Three Capacity Building Workshops have been held in KZN this year  The plan is to visit all the 11 Districts

Role of Peer Educators in the Workplace  Accept and respect  Train and support  Pass on the information  Assist in the distribution of condoms  Serve as a bridge between Health Center and the employee  Ever available source of information

Community Outreach

What Peer Educators should not do  Discriminate/Stigmatize  Decide for employees  Judge/interrogate/blame the employee  Preach or lecture  Make empty promises  Impose their own beliefs and values

Role for Peer Educators re-PSP  Reduction of risky behaviors  Groundwork  Collaborative Relation  Sustainable Capacity Building  Serve as change agents  Serve as role models  Assist the companies to remain cost effective

TB in KwaZulu Natal  KZN has the highest burden of diseases associated with underdevelopment and poverty in the country, these diseases include HAST  According to WHO estimates, SA ranks the third in the World in terms of the TB Burden  KwaZulu-Natal has the highest number of TB infections in the country. TB is the leading cause of mortality in the province,

HIV in SOUTH AFRICA  TOTAL POPULATION OF 48 MILLION  6,5 MILLION ARE INFECTED WITH HIV/AIDS  INFECTION RATE OF 22% (22 OUT OF 100)  new infections each day  deaths each day due to HIV

LEGISLATION AND RIGHT- BASED APPROACH HIV WORKPLACE POLICY Creating Conducive Environment

Closure  In closing, the peer Educators want to be agents of change that we all want to see in our Province  Our role as we are seated here this morning is to create an enabling environment in the workplace for them to assist us all in achieving our goals.