​The Gauteng province is set to recruit into treatment more than 326 000 HIV positive people who have stopped taking or have never enrolled for the life-saving Antiretroviral Treatment (ART).
This is part of a national Close The Gap campaign which seeks to close the antiretroviral treatment (ART) gap by December 2025, targeting the retention and engagement of 1.1 million individuals in care. This ambitious initiative prioritises increasing access to treatment, improving men's health, and enhancing paediatric and adolescent HIV care.
The campaign is part of efforts to reach the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets. The second 95 target refers to 95% of people diagnosed with HIV receiving sustained antiretroviral therapy, essentially meaning that once someone knows they have HIV, they should be started on treatment with ARV medication at a rate of 95%. The focus provinces that constitute the 1.1 million people also include Limpopo with180 000, Western Cape with 163 000, Eastern Cape with 148 000, Mpumalanga with 134 000 and Kwa-Zulu Natal with 117 000. 
MEC Nkomo-Ralehoko said that the province is ready to do whatever it takes to meet the targets by December 2025. "Minister, I want to assure you and everyone present that Gauteng is battle ready to meet this challenge head on!" said the MEC. 
To ensure that the province reaches this ambitious target, the Gauteng Department of Health has distributed 16 mobile clinics across all five districts. These clinics are lifelines that will reach the most remote and underserved areas, ensuring HIV testing, treatment, and care services are accessible to all. The province has also ensured the training of 147 HIV Testing Services Counsellors who will be at the forefront of the Close The Gap campaign, ensuring that people get tested, start treatment, and stay on it.
The Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi took a stance and urged men in particular to play a critical role in ensuring that the country reaches the ambitious target as it is mostly men who default or do not go to clinics to collect treatment due to stigma or masculine misconceptions. 
"We cannot eradicate HIV and AIDS but we can eliminate it as a public health threat by 2030. If we as men are willing, we can help a lot in this battle if we have a health-seeking behaviour," urged the Minister. 
ART is highly effective at suppressing the virus, preventing AIDS, and keeping people healthy. It is freely accessible all public health facilities and available immediately for people diagnosed with HIV and accessible. ART adherence can also help people live longer, healthier lives similar to those without HIV and reduce the risk of transmitting HIV to their loved ones.