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The Health Services Unit recently spearheaded a comprehensive two-day campaign that promoted and prioritized the well-being of students through proactive measures concerning sexual health.
The campaign, hosted with Higher Health, TB/HIV CARE, Social Health & Empowerment (SHE), and Liquor Board, was held under the theme “First Things First” which, according to Student Health and Wellness Manager Dr Thandiwe Mangxa, allowed the unit to deep with students’ issues in depth.
“As a unit, we host campaigns of this nature because we believe in regularly capacitating our students with health-related information that helps them make informed decisions concerning their sexual health,” she said.
Central to the campaign’s success was a focus on destigmatising conversations around sexual health, creating a supportive environment where students felt comfortable seeking information and assistance without judgment or fear.
According to Professional Nurse in the cluster, Dumezweni Joni, the unit devised a student-centered approach where peer helpers were trained to assist in the distigmatisation of conversations around health and wellness.
“We believe that students are more comfortable around their peers, hence we are employing several strategies, including training them to talk comfortably amongst each other, so that students are comfortable to tackle issues that they are faced with,” said Joni.
Amongst issues tackled were issues of disability, men’s health, sexual reproduction, HIV/AIDS testing, amongst others.
Mangxa said this initiative will be driven throughout the year on a quarterly basis.
She, however, encouraged students to regularly visit their campus clinics to keep updated about their health.
By Ongezwa Sigodi
