Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Zweli Mkhize says the war against HIV and Aids still rages on relentlessly.
That's despite South Africa's successful anti retroviral treatment (ART) programme with about 4.2 million people on treatment and a successful prevention programme of mother-to-child-transmission of HIV.
Mkhize celebrated the 30th World Aids Day commemoration at Umzimkhulu on the KwaZulu-Natal lower south coast on Saturday, where he urged the people of the province and leaders from all sectors to double their efforts in the fight against HIV and Aids.
The Eastern Cape Department of Education says it used World Aids Day commemorations to encourage parents to support the implementation of HIV testing services in schools.
The celebrations, which were held in Nelson Mandela Bay, were led by the Department's newly appointed MEC, Mlungisi Mvoko.
The Department's spokesperson, Malibongwe Mtima says the commemorations also sought to raise awareness on different measures of HIV and pregnancy preventions.
It is reported that between January and March of this year, close to 80 girls under the age of 15 gave birth in the Province's health facilities.
Mtima says the Department's sexual and reproductive health interventions target schools with a high rate of new HIV infections
