Delay of AIDS plan lamented

South African AIDS activists have hailed the country's recently announced HIV/AIDS health plan as the world's biggest and most ambitious, while lamenting that the government had taken too long to roll it out. The plan is expected to see life-extending antiretroviral drugs being distributed to around 53,000 people living with HIV/AIDS over the next four months. However, local AIDS group, the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), said in a statement that although the plan provided hope for millions of HIV-positive people, "it is tragic that for many people this decision has come much too late." With some five million of the country's 44.8 million population living with HIV/AIDS, it is estimated that AIDS-related deaths run at more than 600 a day. Meanwhile, UNAIDS executive director Peter Piot has urged other African governments to follow "South Africa's bold move to ensure that millions of HIV-positive people have access to treatment."