South African Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang is currently discussing the efficacy of the anti-AIDS drug, Nevirapine, with drug manufacturers, provincial health ministers and other stakeholders.
The minister told the recent AIDS conference in Bangkok that the single-dose drug, used nationwide to combat mother-to-child transmission of HIV, led to resistance.
As a result, the cabinet has given Tshabalala-Msimang until the end of July to determine a new direction on the use of Nevirapine.
Cabinet spokesman Joel Netshitenzhe told a local newspaper, Business Day, that HIV-positive mothers receiving the single dose of the drug would now be "more vigorously" informed of the risks of developing resistance to Nevirapine.
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