Cape Town - Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has urged South Africans of all ages to go for HIV testing at least once a year.
Motsoaledi highlighted that first-year university students were the fifth high-risk group, with other groups including sex workers, intravenous drug users, men who slept with other men and long distance truck drivers.
He warned that HIV and Tuberculosis (TB) were the "biggest crises the country has ever faced".
The minister was speaking on Tuesday at the launch of the "First Things First HIV" testing campaign launched at the University of the Western Cape.
He warned university students, particularly first-year students, to take extra care of themselves and avoid contracting HIV.
These students were particularly vulnerable because of their "newly found freedom" away from home and the transition into adulthood after having spent many years at home and school where there were institutional rules.
"University can be a very dangerous place to be if you are coming for the first time, so watch out," he said.
His message was supported by Deputy Minister of Higher Education Hlengiwe Mkhize, who urged students to focus on education not "parties, boys or girls".
She reminded the youngsters that protecting themselves was their responsibility, and reiterated that the youth were the future of South Africa's prosperity.
"If we are to prosper, we do need to invest in the health of the youth," she said.
In a firm address, Motsoaledi cited alcohol abuse as one of the causes of HIV transmission.
He said that new legislation would be introduced to Parliament this year with the view of banning alcohol adverts, particularly during prime time television viewing. These adverts used popular sports people to lie to the nation that they could be successful if they drank beer.
Sharing some chilling statistics with the students, he said that South Africa was ranked first in the world in terms of HIV prevalence.
"I don't like to state this fact but unfortunately we can't run away from it."
He highlighted that 25 percent of the world's antiretroviral drugs were being consumed in the country, with the 14 - 24 age bracket being the most infected.
Motsoaledi encouraged men to go for medical circumcision to reduce chances of getting HIV by 50 - 60 percent. But, he also warned that they should use condoms after the circumcision.
He took a swipe at men who raped children because of the myth that it cured Aids.
The campaign, in its second consecutive year, would target the testing of 35 000 students across100 campuses in all universities and Further Education and Training colleges in the country.
The project is a partnership between government, Innovation Medicines South Africa (IMSA) and Foundation for Personal Development (FPD).
Motsoaledi said the campaign was yielding results, with 21 000 students tested last year. Of that, 6 375 were first-year students. He said that 12 200 of that total had never tested for HIV before and 5 000 were screened for TB.
He indicated that President Jacob Zuma's 2010 National HIV counselling and testing campaign - targeting the testing of 15 million people within 15 months - was on track.
He said that by 2011, 13 million people had been tested for HIV while eight million were screened for TB.
