South Africa’s Cabinet made the claim on Wednesday to have the largest number of people on anti-retroviral treatment for HIV/Aids in the world.
Government spokesperson Joel Netshitenzhe said the government would be ”scaling up its communication and social mobilisation” on the Aids fight, noting that the budget for the campaign had been increased over a two-year period from R160-million rand to R200-million.
”With 134 473 people initiated on anti-retroviral treatment by the end of March, and an estimated additional 80 000 initiatives in the private and non-government organisation sector, South Africa today has the largest programme in the world,” said Netshitenzhe.
Noting preparations for the United Nations general assembly special session on HIV/Aids, he said Cabinet had welcomed the progress that the country had made in implementing a comprehensive programme to combat the pandemic.
”While much more needs to be done, the advances in promoting awareness and behaviour-change, including use of condoms, expansion of accredited health facilities providing Aids-related services, recruitment and training of health professionals, provision of nutritional supplements and community and home-based care … all these are cause for hope.”
He said Cabinet welcomed the fact that the South African National Aids Council had, at its recent meeting, agreed on intensified joint action and that it had agreed on how all South African delegates to the UN General Assembly Special Session would cooperate, ensuring that the objectives of the fight against HIV/Aids within South Africa and internationally were advanced.
Both South African President Thabo Mbeki and Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang have come under fire for their views on fighting HIV/Aids. — I-Net Bridge