SOUTH AFRICA –13 August 2009- (IOM)-IOM and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are this week to launch Ripfumelo, a new programme in South Africa focusing on HIV prevention and care for commercial farm workers in three districts in Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces.

Ripfumelo, which means “believe” in xiTsonga, will be rolled out in Musina where the commericial agricultural sector employs a large number of seasonal workers, many of whom are cross-border migrants.

The Musina Local Municipality has experienced an increase in the number of migrants over the past year which has stretched the already overburdened health system and created a breeding ground for other communicable diseases.

“Farm workers are more vulnerable to HIV because of the transitional nature of their lifestyle and it is partnerships such as these within Ripfumelo that enable us address the contextual background of this vulnerability,” adds Mathata Madibane, Project Development Specialist at USAID.

The programme, Ripfumelo, will begin with a seminar this week for government officials and civil society in Musina on increasing migrants’ access to health services as well as finding solutions to challenges relating to their health. It will be co-hosted by IOM and the Musina Local Municipality, in close collaboration with the Provincial Department of Health and Social Development and Limpopo Office of the Premier.

The three-year US$5.1 million USAID funded project aims to provide sustainable HIV prevention and care services to farm workers by developing a network of stakeholders working specifically on HIV-related issues to reduce the high incidence and impact of AIDS on farm workers, their families and communities.