AFRO-NETS> South Africa rolls out AIDS programme

[Leela McCullough <leela@healthnet.org>]

South Africa rolls out AIDS programme
-------------------------------------
 
The government approves a plan to distribute free Aids drugs to 
more than five million sufferers.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/business/3284731.stm
 
 
The South African Cabinet has approved a plan to distribute free 
Aids drugs to more than five million sufferers. 
 
But the health minister warned there was "still a long way to go" 
in the fight against Aids. 
 
"I don't want to raise false hopes, but a decision has been made. 
There is hope," Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said. 
 
The country has been accused of not doing enough to fight the 
disease, despite having the largest number of HIV/Aids cases in 
the world. 
 
Under the plan approved on Wednesday, the government will estab-
lish a network of centres to distribute anti-retroviral drugs to 
fight the disease. 
 
Mrs Tshabalala-Msimang said each of the country's roughly 50 
health districts would have a distribution centre within a year. 
 
Implementing the programme will require major upgrade of the 
health care system, recruiting and training large numbers of 
health care workers, she said. 
 
Campaigners welcomed the decision, with one, Ntombozuko Khwaza, 
telling the Reuters news agency the plans "will save the lives of 
our people, our friends and our family - and mine". 
 
Prevention 
 
The government will also boost its prevention campaign and in-
crease support for families affected by HIV/Aids, the minister 
said. 
 
The government approved the universal anti-retroviral treatment 
programme in August, and ordered health officials to finalise an 
operational plan. 
 
It was drafted with the assistance of the William Jefferson Clin-
ton Foundation and presented to the Cabinet last week. 
 
The BBC's Richard Hamilton in Johannesburg says a fall in the 
cost of anti-retroviral drugs has been a major factor in the gov-
ernment's change of strategy. 
 
With an estimated 5.3 million South Africans - more than 12% of 
the population - infected with HIV/Aids, the health authorities 
face a significant challenge. 
 
They also have to catch up on perceived lost time. 
 
Health activists have long accused the government of dragging its 
feet, saying both President Thabo Mbeki and Health Minister Tsha-
balala-Msimang had failed to grasp the seriousness of the crisis. 
 
An estimated 600 South Africans die every day of Aids-related 
causes. 
 
--
Dr. Leela McCullough
Director of Information Services
SATELLIFE
30 California Street, Watertown, MA 02472, USA
Tel: +1-617-926-9400 
Fax: +1-617-926-1212
mailto:leela@usa.healthnet.org
http://www.healthnet.org

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