​A top-level German delegation has had first-hand experience of the positive impact of community HIV testing during a visit to field sites operated by Stellenbosch University's Desmond Tutu TB Centre.

The 23-member delegation, led by Theresa Bauer, Minister of Science, Research and the Arts of the German state of Baden-Württemberg, visited such a community testing site where tents and caravans had been set up, so that people could swiftly get tested for HIV instead of going to a clinic.

The mobile testing forms part of an HIV prevention package delivered door-to-door as well as by mobile units in the community by Community HIV Care Providers (CHiPS), as part of the HPTN 071 (PopART) study. PopART is a research study that will determine the impact of a package of HIV prevention interventions on the incidence of HIV at a community level, involving a million people in 21 communities in South Africa and Zambia.

“The Desmond Tutu TB Centre was recommended to us as an extraordinary institution where research on pressing health questions is done in a very practice-oriented way to the direct benefit of society," said Bauer.

The delegation comprised mostly principals and rectors from Baden-Württemberg, which has the greatest concentration of universities and the most diverse higher education landscape in Germany.

The group was interested to hear about the experiences of Blia Yang and her CHiPS team when testing people for HIV in and around Cape Town. They were also encouraged to hear how counsellors follow up HIV-positive clients at their homes to help link them to care at clinics and to receive the antiretroviral treatment they need.

The delegation congratulated the field teams for their hard work in addressing the HIV epidemic.

“I am delighted that the delegation could see how people in communities are involved in and benefit directly from Stellenbosch University's research activities," said Prof Nulda Beyers, South Africa's principal researcher for the HPTN 071 (PopART) trial.

The visit to the HIV testing site formed part of the delegation's five-day visit to South Africa and Namibia. The group was particularly interested in the interconnections between science and research, as well as science and industry, with the focus on “living laboratories" in the fields of health, food security and social research.

“We learned that in South Africa this interaction between science and industry, including civil society, is achieved particularly well. This is why we chose to come to South Africa and to learn more about this network and exchange at institutes like the Desmond Tutu TB Centre," said Bauer.

The delegation also visited the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical TB Research at Stellenbosch University, as well as the Lynedoch Eco-village Initiative near Stellenbosch.

Professor Arnold van Zyl, President of the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University, said the visit was an extremely valuable learning experience as university leaders could see how knowledge was closely combined with community health practice. He explained that this is unusual, since clinical and bio-medical work in other countries often take place far from one another.

The visit is expected to hold longer-term benefits.

“Our countries have a lot in common regarding excellent interdisciplinary research and academic education. Therefore, I am convinced that the personal encounters between the delegation from Baden-Württemberg and the partners in South Africa and Namibia will either initiate new contacts, or strengthen existing partnerships to the mutual benefit of all," said Bauer.

According to her interaction between Germany and its African partners is vital.

“Cooperating and integrating with African partners is essential if we want to make progress when confronting today's pressing global challenges."

Caption: Members of a high-level German delegation take a look at one of the mobile HIV testing sites in Cape Town.