Aids rate lower than reported - SANDF
2013-03-19 12:20
Johannesburg - The SA National Defence Force has a HIV/Aids prevalence rate
of 8.5%, spokesperson Colonel Louis Kirstein said on Tuesday.
"There are various organisations and researchers who claim that the
defence force has an HIV/Aids rate of 28%," he said in a statement.
He dismissed this claim, and said a study was done which showed an HIV
prevalence rate of 8.5%, compared to the national prevalence rate of about 19%.
"This figure was obtained from the SANDF health status report of
September 2011, and was reconfirmed in a HIV prevalence study done during
August 2012," said Kirstein.
It was conducted among regular force and military skills development system
members.
Another study was being planned for 2013.
- SAPA
