By Shaun Benton

Cape Town – South Africa has the world's largest anti-retroviral treatment programme for people infected with the human-immunodeficiency virus (HIV), said government spokesperson Joel Netshitenzhe.

By the end of March this year there were 134 473 people initiated on government's anti-retroviral (ARV) programme of HIV-suppressing drugs, and there are currently an estimated additional 80 000 people receiving ARVs through private medical treatment and the non-governmental sector.

This makes South Africa's ARV treatment programme the largest in the world.

“No other country has got the kinds of numbers that we are talking about – about 210 000 people who are under ART (anti-retroviral treatment),” Netshitenzhe said.

Last year government massively increased resources in the fight against HIV and Aids, setting aside over R3 billion for sustainable supplies of HIV-fighting anti-retroviral drugs.

In her budget speech in April last year, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang told Members of Parliament that seven companies had been appointed by government to supply HIV fighting drugs through a tender valued at R3.4 billion.

Funding to assist provinces with implementation of the Comprehensive Plan for Management, Care and Treatment of HIV and Aids was increased by 45 percent last year, from R782 million in 2004/2005 to R1.135 billion in the 2005/2006 financial year.

Netshitenzhe also cited a number of interventions arising from the Comprehensive Plan, such as what he called advances in promoting awareness of HIV and Aids among South Africans, as well as encouraging behaviour change, such as the use of condoms.

The distribution of male condoms increased from just over 300 million in 2003 to close to 350 million in 2004. And in 2004 1.2 million female condoms were distributed, MPs were told last year.

Government will be scaling up communication and social mobilisation in the fight against HIV and Aids and the budget for a two-year awareness campaign has been increased from R160 million to R200 million.

Other interventions under the Comprehensive Plan include the expansion of accredited health facilities providing Aids-related services, recruitment and training of health professionals, provision of nutritional supplements as well as home- and community-based care.

“All these [interventions and advances] are cause for hope,” said Netshitenzhe.

In another key development, the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), previously often seen as being at loggerheads with government over its demand for ARV programmes, would be working with the official South African National Aids Council (Sanac) on a coherent country perspective ahead of the forthcoming special UN conference on HIV and Aids, Netshitenzhe said.

Sanac agreed – including the TAC, said Netshitenzhe – that there would be constant liaison among South African delegates at the United Nations General Assembly’s Special Session on HIV and Aids ( Ungass) in New York from 31 May to 2 June in order to present a coherent country perspective.

This constant liaison would also help to ensure that the objectives of the fight against HIV and Aids within South Africa and internationally are advanced, he said.

Source: BuaNews