Pretoria - Over seven million people have tested for HIV in the past 12 months, the South African National Aids Council (Sanac) announced on Friday.

The council said over nine million people have participated in the campaign, with over seven million tested for HIV, a figure they noted as "impressive", given that historically, counselling and testing rates reached only three million people annually.

Sanac was presenting a progress report on the countrywide implementation of the HIV, Counselling and Testing (HCT) campaign to a high level delegation - including Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi and Eastern Cape Premier Noxolo Kiviet - in East London.

The figure of more than seven million people tested does not include data of people who were tested in a large number of private health facilities, especially general practitioners in villages and townships.

Most of those who tested positive are being initiated into treatment whilst others, depending on CD4 count, and are urged to regularly visit their health practitioners until such time that they are ready to start treatment, said Sanac.