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

University anti-AIDS treatment plan hits snag

    JOHANNESBURG

    An initiative by South Africa's University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) to provide treatment to HIV-positive students has struck a snag, according to the local Sunday Times newspaper.

    UKZN's innovative programme was the first at a tertiary institution to allow students access to low-cost anti-AIDS drugs, counselling and medical consultations.

    Only 20 people have enrolled since the programme's inception in 2004, despite a 1999 study showing a 16 percent AIDS prevalence among the 40,617 staff and students.

    Prof Salim Abdool Karim, who founded the initiative, commented, "The main reason, in my opinion, for these numbers on treatment being low is our lack of capacity to scale up voluntary counselling and testing, and to encourage even larger numbers of students to come forward for testing."

    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