NEW ERA IN AIDS BATTLE

Presiden Zuma announces a major shift in the Government's Aids policy
Published on: 02 December 2009

"We can eliminate the scourge of HIV if all South Africans take responsibility for their actions," Zuma - wearing a black suit, a red tie and red Aids ribbon - told more than 3 000 people at the World Aids Day event at the Pretoria Showgrounds.

"Let there be no more shame, no more blame, no more discrimination and no more stigma," Zuma urged. "Let the politicisation and endless debates about HIV and Aids stop."

Major policy shifts announced by Zuma were received with cheers and applause from those gathered to hear him, including activists and researchers from nearly 100 organisations working in the arena of prevention, treatment and care for people affected by HIV and Aids.

The new measures, which Zuma said would kick in from April 1 next year, are:

• All children under one year of age will get antiretroviral (ARV) treatment if they test positive. Starting treatment would not be dictated by their CD4 counts and this "will contribute significantly towards the reduction of infant mortality over time", Zuma said.
• All patients with both TB and HIV will receive ARVs if their CD4 count is 350 or less. At present, people only qualify for state-provided ARVs if their CD4 count is 200 or less. Aids experts have argued that going on to the drugs earlier provides a better chance of surviving longer and could also reduce the infection rate.
• TB and HIV/Aids will be treated under one roof, instead of patients having to travel between different health facilities. Zuma said this policy change would address early deaths arising from undetected TB infection among people infected with HIV. About 1 percent of South Africans have TB and the co-infection rate between HIV and TB is put at 73 percent.
• All parents and all pregnant HIV-positive women with CD4 counts of 350 or less, or with symptoms regardless of their CD4 counts, will have access to ARVs, instead of only pregnant HIV-positive women whose CD4 counts are 200 or lower.
• All other pregnant women who are HIV-positive will be put on treatment at 14 weeks into their pregnancies in order to protect their babies from becoming infected. Currently, treatment starts only in the last three months of pregnancy.

"To meet the need for testing and treatment we will work to ensure that all the health institutions in our country are ready to receive and assist patients, and not just a few accredited ARV centres," Zuma said.

"Any citizen should be able to move into any health centre and ask for counselling, testing and even treatment if needed," he said to loud applause.

Work was under way to ensure that systems were in place by March 31, Zuma said.

Announcing government plans to launch "a massive campaign" for all South Africans to get tested for HIV, Zuma said he too would take the test, although it would not be for the first time. "I already know my status," he said.

People leapt from their seats and ecstatic cheers of "Yes!" and "Thank you!" greeted Zuma's announcement that people would no longer have to wait until their CD4 counts had fallen to 200 before qualifying for ARVs.

Zuma said he knew that it was "difficult" for many people to decide to test for HIV, but it was important for all to know their status because HIV had "profound" social, cultural and economic consequences.