Lack of qualified staff hampers ARV rollout

South Africa's Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and the AIDS Law Project (ALP) have recommended the emergency recruitment of key staff to help cut the growing waiting lists for antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, The Star newspaper reported.

The Gauteng province's treatment plan calls for 130,000 people to be on ARV this year. However, "waiting lists are already running into 2005 at some sites," reported TAC at a People's Health Summit at the weekend. Five sites in Gauteng, most of which are in Johannesburg, have begun rolling out ARVs with only about 2,300 patients receiving treatment.

According to Gauteng health department spokesperson, Popo Maja, jobs have been advertised and candidates are being interviewed but it is proving hard to fill key posts quickly with qualified people.

"We are deeply concerned with the delays in the rollout and the lack of national commitment to provide treatment," said Fatima Hassen, an attorney with the ALP. The authors of the report warn that "failure to provide national leadership is widening the gap between resourced and under-resourced provinces."