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Government admits lags in AIDS drug plan

    JOHANNESBURG

    South Africa's Ministry of Health has announced that it is unlikely to reach its goal of having 53,000 HIV-positive people on antiretroviral treatment by March 2005.

    Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang blamed the slow take-up of antiretroviral drugs on stigma and the lack of skilled healthcare workers.

    A local newspaper, Business Day, quoted the minister as saying, "very few health professionals understand HIV/AIDS, so the issue of training [has been] critical."

    President Thabo Mbeki extended the time frame for meeting the target by a year during his state of the nation address earlier this year.

    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

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