SOUTH AFRICA: HIV/AIDS training programme launched for doctors

Medical organisations have created a training programme to help doctors deal with HIV/AIDS more effectively, the SA Medical Association (SAMA) announced this week. The programme was developed by SAMA’s educational division, the Foundation for Professional Development (FPD), and the SA HIV Clinicians Society.

“HIV/AIDS is the biggest challenge facing South Africa and we believe that every doctor should actively contribute to providing a solution,” FPD Director Dr Gustaaf Wolvaardt told PlusNews. He said the programme was created because “a vast bulk” of the medical profession had qualified before 1990 and had not been taught to deal with HIV/AIDS in their undergraduate studies. He said the country’s health care facilities and resources were also not adequate to deal with the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The course would ensure that all primary level health-care practitioners had updated skills to cope with HIV/AIDS as a chronic disease, he added.

According to Wolvaardt, about 700 participants enrolled for the course, scheduled to begin this weekend in all major cities. The aim, he said, was to reach all of the 17,000 medical practitioners who qualified before 1991. However, he added, there was funding to train up to 3000 practitioners only. On completion of the course, participants would be able to diagnose and manage HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections, as well as understand vaccine development, be clear on all aspects of counselling and know when to refer people to specialists and support services, Wolvaardt told PlusNews.

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