E-DRUG: ART progress in Africa except South Africa
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[From the South African Sunday Times ; copied as fair use; WB]
http://www.suntimes.co.za/2003/07/20/news/africa/africa01.asp
SA drags its feet while poorer neighbours roll out treatment
by Claire Keeton
AIDS treatment in Southern Africa is about to explode with seven countries
in the region accelerating access to antiretroviral drugs.
"Very poor countries have shown they are capable of doing effective
treatment in the public sector and that they would be ready to scale up
rapidly," said the UN special envoy for HIV/Aids in Africa, Stephen Lewis.
Speaking after this week's international Aids research conference in Paris,
the executive director of the UN Global Fund for the Treatment of Aids,
Malaria and Tuberculosis, Richard Feachem, said that Africa was on the
threshold of an explosion in treatment.
Botswana, with the highest HIV infection rate in the world, at about 38.5%,
is leading the way by promising free antiretroviral treatment to all of its
1.5 million citizens.
The national programme has opened six treatment centres since January last
year and is treating more than 6 000 people - of an estimated 330 000 with
HIV/Aids - using drugs donated by pharmaceutical giant Merck as well as
millions of dollars from the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation.
Now Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe are preparing
to follow this life-saving initiative by launching or expanding treatment
programmes in the public sector as swiftly as possible.
They reported on their progress towards rolling out treatment at a World
Health Organisation (WHO) Africa region conference in Zimbabwe last week and
at a Southern African Development Community meeting in Lesotho earlier this
month.
The UNAIDS programme adviser for Southern and Eastern Africa, Dr Catherine
Sozi, said that partnerships between governments, non-government
organisations and donors, including pharmaceutical companies, are managing
and funding these programmes.
The WHO has set a target of three million Africans on treatment by 2005.
Only South Africa, which has yet to approve a roll-out of antiretroviral
drugs in the public sector, is seen as lagging behind. South African Health
Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has raised problems around the
government's capacity to provide sustainable treatment.
But Dr Kgosi Letlape, the chairman of the Medical Association of South
Africa, said enough capacity existed in the public sector to provide
treatment to 100 000 people tomorrow, if the government gave the go-ahead.
An estimated 600 South Africans die every day from Aids-related illnesses.
Health Ministry spokesman Jo-Anne Collinge said this week that the Cabinet
would deal soon with a joint Treasury and Health Department report on
treatment - which found it was affordable and could save up to 1.7 million
lives by 2010.
But the signing of a national treatment and prevention plan, which was high
on the agenda of a National Economic Development and Labour Council meeting
this week between the government, labour, business and community
organisations, has stalled again.
In South Africa, about half a million people need antiretrovirals now - but
only about 21 000 people are on treatment, 20 000 of whom get access through
medical aids.
Outside the private sector, there are about 18 projects run by
non-government organisations or universities, which offer sponsored
treatment to roughly 1 000 people. Ten of the projects are in urban or
peri-urban areas in the Western Cape, five in KwaZulu-Natal and three in
Gauteng, and rural projects are to be launched later this year.
Other African countries that have made strides in treating Aids are:
Nigeria has about 15 000 people on treatment and is planning to expand its
programme;
Uganda has 10 000 on treatment and its antenatal HIV rates have dropped from
double digits to 6%;
Cameroon has about 6 000 on treatment; and
Senegal has about 1 500 people on treatment, and is planning to increase
this to 7 000 by 2005.
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