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A South African AIDS NGO has called on members of the public to assist in providing antiretroviral drugs to 1,000 people by the end of 2004.
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) said its "Treatment Project" could currently only provide treatment for 25 people living with HIV/AIDS.
The local Cape Times newspaper quoted TAC chairman, Zackie Achmat, as saying: "This is the challenge we want to make to every ordinary South African. We want to raise as much money as possible, to save as many lives as possible."
Referring to the government's plan to put a national treatment programme in place, Achmat said TAC believed the time had come "for civil society to help the government".
He said a R50 (around US $7) pledge to the TAC project each month could help prolong the lives of many HIV-positive people.
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