Government forced to disclose AIDS drug plan

The South African AIDS lobby group, Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), is taking the government to court to force it to disclose the targets and timetable for the rollout of free anti-AIDS drugs. Fatima Hassan, a lawyer with the advocacy group, AIDS Law Project (ALP), said they would present their case in the Pretoria High Court on 2 November. ALP wants the government to make available Annexure A of the Operational Plan, and any revisions, as this contains the patient targets and timelines for implementation. Hassan told Agence France-Presse that TAC has been urging government to release the documentation since February. Although the government promised to provide antiretroviral drugs to 53,000 people by March this year, only 8,000 people have received treatment. The Operational Plan was adopted in November 2003.