Search
  1. Home
  2. Southern Africa
  3. South Africa

Delay in AIDS drug rollout defended

    JOHANNESBURG

    South African health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has defended delays in the government's national HIV/AIDS drug rollout by saying that the country's health care system was in a "shambles".

    Speaking during a recent rally to mark the start of the national Sexually Transmitted Infection and Condom Week, the minister said currently only 2,000 out of 20,000 state doctors were reportedly able to administer and manage antiretroviral drug treatment.

    Tshabalala-Msimang told the crowd: "The health care system is in shambles, and it would be irresponsible to begin dishing out antiretroviral drugs before we are ready."

    The speech came a week after the AIDS activist group, Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), expressed concern over the lack of progress in the national rollout, agreed upon by the cabinet in November 2003.

    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

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join