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Delay of AIDS plan lamented

    JOHANNESBURG

    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."

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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