South Africa's HIV/AIDS problem is reaching crisis levels. More and more people are dying from the disease every year, noted not only by medical experts but also by graveyard workers. But the issue is a complicated one. On the one hand people are aware that the disease exists, and know that using contraception helps to prevent it. Yet there is also a staggering level of ignorance surrounding the disease, which is in part responsible for its rapid spread. Despite numbers of people with HIV increasing in the city, no one in Port Elisabeth knows anybody who is HIV positive; people believe that contracting HIV leads to almost instant death; the rumour that sleeping with a virgin cures the disease is one still believed by thousands. Those with HIV can face discrimination. One man, who has had the disease for seven years and still feels healthy, speaks of the troubles he faced once he was diagnosed: "When I was diagnosed I was looking for employment and I was told I was going to die in 3 months and that I couldn't get the job I applied for." Many therefore chose to keep their diagnosis hidden, and suffer in silence. Experts are obviously worried, and many are calling for a different approach to solving the crisis. "What I would suggest is that we must just begin again with HIV awareness until such time as HIV has a face for the South African population and for its policy makers," states one expert. A vital report that sheds light of 1990's South Africa and its struggle with combating HIV/AIDS.

Produced by SABC Special Assignment