E-drug: South African government U-turn on HIV/AIDS drugs
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BBC News
Saturday, 9 August, 2003
[copied as fair use]
SA activists hail AIDS drugs U-turn
Activists have praised the government's move
Campaigners have welcomed South Africa's decision to introduce
anti-retroviral drugs to treat people who are HIV positive, after
years of public pressure.
The Department of Health has been given until the end of September to
develop a plan detailing when and how the drugs will be made
available.
Some 4.7 million South Africans, one in nine, are infected with
HIV/Aids - the world's highest number.
Aids activists who led an increasingly angry campaign demanding drug
treatment, welcomed the government's move but cautioned that they had
been disappointed before.
Government shares the impatience of many South Africans on the need
to strengthen the nation's armoury in the fight against Aids
Cabinet statement
Zackie Achmat, chairman of the Treatment Action Campaign,
congratulated the government on a courageous decision, saying it was
the best news in four dark years.
"We will wait to see the actual operational plan before celebration,"
said Mr Achmat, who himself is HIV positive. "But for all of us
living with HIV in South Africa, and our families this is the first
sign of hope."
The TAC, which often accused the government of playing down the
epidemic, said it would formally suspend a civil disobedience
campaign and reconsider pending litigation early next week, Reuters
reported.
Affordable treatment
It is the first time the South African government has shown
commitment towards anti-retroviral drugs, says the BBC's Alastair
Leithead in Johannesburg.
In the past, President Thabo Mbeki has questioned the link between
HIV and Aids, and stressed the role of poor quality food and housing
in reducing the immunity systems of many South Africans.
Earlier this week the government came under a huge amount of pressure
from scientists, community workers and academics at the South African
Aids conference in Durban.
The announcement that the drugs would be introduced came after a
after a special meeting of the cabinet to discuss the issue of Aids
treatment.
It follows a report prepared from a Health Department and Treasury
task team which found that the public provision of anti-retroviral
drugs was now affordable.
"Government shares the impatience of many South Africans on the need
to strengthen the nation's armoury in the fight against Aids," said
the cabinet in a statement.
"Cabinet will therefore ensure that the remaining challenges are
addressed with urgency and that the final product guarantees a
programme that is effective and sustainable."
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