Men slow to seek help after contracting HIV

Experts and organisations fighting against the HIV/Aids pandemic have urged men to take treatment to avoid unnecessary death.

- Masoka Dube

It is believed after contracting the virus, most men are reluctant to go to the health facilities to start taking treatment.

Several doctors interviewed by The Citizen, who cannot be named because they are not authorised to talk to the media, said most of their HIV patients were women.

One of the doctors said: “I am always worried because most of my HIV patients are women.”

Statistics released by Thembisa, the mathematical model of HIV and TB in South Africa, said in 2023-24, there were 5.2 million women living with the virus, compared with 2.6 million men.

It further said that more men lost their lives due to HIV-related causes than women.

According to the statistics in the same (2023-24) financial year, 27100 men died of Aids, while only 24200 women had died.