Durban - The destruction of two University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) buildings by protesters last week was a major set back for the fight against HIV and Aids.
The university's Campus HIV and Aids Support Units (CHASU) at Howard College and Edgewood Campus were set alight on Monday and Wednesday. Students were left stranded and vulnerable.
Eleanor Langley, UKZN’s acting co-ordinator of the HIV/Aids programme, said students were wandering around the old buildings, asking where they could get help.
“Students and staff are furious that the buildings were destroyed. People were dependent on us for help, but now that beacon of hope was destroyed,” she said.
Langley said she could not understand why protesters targeted both the buildings.
“This year alone, we had close to 10 000 students visit our CHASU buildings across all of our campuses, about 4 000 of them were from Howard College. There was a clear need and demand for our help, and Howard was our base camp.”
She said when students suspected they were HIV positive or had a sexually transmitted infection, they visited the centres.
“We were there to serve and help the students. If you were unsure of something or felt scared, you could visit us, and we would help, but now that is gone. If you were tested positive, we would walk every step of the way with you.”
She said for students who tested positive, they would be provided counselling and be set up with one of the campus clinics to receive medical treatment.
She estimated the damage to the buildings to be in the region of R5 million.
“We had just received boxes of condoms and testing kits from the Department of Health. Our laptops and equipment were also destroyed,” she said.
Langley said the loss was a setback which she believed would never be fully recovered.
“We are devastated. We lost all of our research, records and facilities. Not to mention the precious time that could be used to help people now has to be used to rebuild. Our handiwork has gone up in smoke. The buildings constantly had student traffic, and apart from full counselling and testing, we gave out condoms and advice to those who asked,” she said.
Ashton Boderick, UKZN spokesperson, said the estimated cost of damage to Howard College after a preliminary visit was around R800 000.
“But that was just the structure, not taking into account what was inside. The staff were being relocated to alternative workspaces on campus,” he said.
Boderick said while the buildings were not clinics, they proved to be an asset in the fight against HIV/Aids and other sexually transmitted infections.
According to Statistics South Africa, an estimated 13,5% of the total population was HIV positive in 2019.
The total number of persons living with HIV in South Africa was estimated to be 7.97 million.