Gauteng health department is already providing anti-Aids drugs to HIV-positive pregnant women in 90% of the province’s state hospitals, a representative said on Thursday.
Simon Zwane, of health MEC Gwen Ramokgopa’s office, said nevirapine was being made available at 90% of state hospitals and 70% of community health centres.
He said there about 45 state-owned health institutions in the province. Twenty hospitals and 18 community centres are currently providing the anti-retroviral drug to prevent HIV transmission from pregnant mothers to their babies.
This follows a Constitutional Court ruling at the beginning of July, stating the drug should be supplied to HIV-positive pregnant women at state hospitals with the capacity.
Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson said the national government’s Aids policy was an infringement of the health care rights of HIV-positive pregnant women and their babies.
However, Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa had announced in January the province’s intention to treat HIV-positive pregnant women.
Zwane said about 18 health centres were providing nevirapine at the time of the court ruling, and the number more than doubled after the court order.
Gauteng is also treating HIV-negative rape survivors to prevent them from contracting the disease as a result of the sexual abuse.
”We are treating rape victims in seven centres in the province providing that they arrive within 72 hours of the rape and agree to voluntary counselling and testing.
”If it is found that the woman was HIV-positive before the rape, we do not treat her because then it is not related to the rape.”
He said the province was only providing medicine to prevent the transmission of the virus.
”We have not budgeted for treating HIV-positive people with nevirapine, for the moment we are focusing on preventing the transmission of the disease,” Zwane said.
However, Medecins Sans Frontieres was conducting research on the costs and implications of such programmes at a site in Cape Town. Similar research was underway at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto.
”The government will continue to work for the lowering of the costs of these drugs. There is a continuous consideration of these issues,” Zwane said. – Sapa