The South African HIV/AIDS context reminds us of the need for progammes like Siyakhana.
South Africa is experiencing one of the most severe AIDS epidemics in the world. At the end of 2007, there were approximately 5.7 million people living with HIV in South Africa, and almost 1 000 AIDS deaths occurring daily.
 It is difficult to overstate the suffering that HIV has caused in South Africa. Although Siyakhana prevalence figures show an 8% infection rate in workplaces, other South Africa statistics show that almost one in five adults are infected.
As well as the death and suffering that HIV has caused on an individual and community level, South Africa’s AIDS epidemic has also had a substantial impact on the country’s overall social and economic progress:
• Average life expectancy in South Africa is now 54 years – without AIDS, it is estimated that it would be 64. Over half of 15 year olds are not expected to reach the age of 60.
• Between 1990 and 2003 – a period during which HIV prevalence in South Africa increased dramatically – the country fell by 35 places in the Human Development Index, a global directory that ranks countries by how developed they are.
• Hospitals are struggling to cope with the number of HIV-related patients that they have to care for. In 2006 a leading researcher estimated that HIV-positive patients would soon account for 60-70% of medical expenditure in South African hospitals.
                                                                                Data from www.avert.org