The following articles were written by organisations who responded on our call to share what they are doing in getting to zero new HIV infections:

1. Striving towards excellence in public health service delivery: The Institute for Youth Development in South Africa
2. Educating communities on grassroots level: Health and Development Research cc
3. Overcoming HIV/AIDS and disabilities: Johannesburg Society of the Blind
4. Delivering comprehensive primary health care: Kasselsvlei Clinic
5. A family and community under threat: A personal testimony by Ncengi Mthethwa

You can now listen to audio podcasts by the above organisations on their plans for World AIDS Day 2013.

Dr Michelle Moorhouse
I have been working in the field of HIV since 1999, and have seen South Africa progress from frank AIDS denialism to having the biggest antiretroviral programme in the world, with more than 2 million HIV infected patients now on antiretroviral therapy (ART). HIV is now accepted as a chronic manageable disease, rather than a death sentence, which has changed the face of the epidemic in South Africa completely. Even so, we still have a lot of work to do. People are still being diagnosed very late with advanced stage disease, which means they have poorer outcomes, even with access to ART. Sadly, one of the main drivers of this is the stigma that is still associated with HIV/AIDS. 

The theme for World AIDS Day 2013 is "Getting to zero" - zero new infections, zero deaths and zero stigma. We should fight the battle to get to zero every day, not just once a year on 1 December. But let World AIDS Day be a day to reflect on the lessons we have learned in this epidemic; to remember those whom we have lost to AIDS and to celebrate their lives; to unite in the fight against HIV. Most importantly, let World AIDS day be a day to speak openly about HIV, to raise awareness and to declare war on the stigma around HIV which results in the senseless loss of life. Let World AIDS Day be the day to rally the troops and banish stigma.

Ms Hendra Van Zyl
On World AIDS day 2013, it will be the twelfth year that AfroAIDSinfo has been providing information on HIV/AIDS to a global audience including scientists, health professionals, policy makers, educationalists, and the public. Looking back, we have seen biomedical interventions making a contribution towards reduced HIV incidence but we also recognise the major gap that we need to close with behavioural change interventions. The AfroAIDSinfo team wishes to call upon all our members and visitors to increase their responses to this epidemic in order to get to zero new infections.  We also wish to thank those who contributed to our call in sharing their experiences on World AIDS day 2013 in our collaborative fight against this disease.

Prof Debbie Bradshaw
It is incredible to witness the impact that access to anti-retroviral treatment is having on reducing the number of deaths from AIDS in our country. This should give us hope to redouble our efforts to prevent the spread of HIV and aim for an AIDS-free generation.