International News

South Africa Expands AIDS Program to Allow Earlier ARV Treatment

From Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

August 15, 2011

The South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) on Saturday endorsed a new National Health Council policy to expand the country's AIDS program "to allow people living with HIV to start antiretroviral [ARV] treatment earlier" by raising the CD4 count necessary to access treatment from 200 to 350, Agence France-Presse reports (8/14). Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi "said the plan would be integrated into the proposed National Health Insurance system," SAPA/News24 writes (8/13).

SANAC spokesperson Junaid Seedat "cautioned that offering ARV treatment earlier is only half the battle," IRIN/PlusNews reports. "Our big problem was not that our threshold was too low, but that people are presenting for treatment too late," he said, according to the news agency (8/15).

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This information was reprinted from kff.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives, and sign up for email delivery. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

This article was provided by Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. It is a part of the publication Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report. Visit the Kaiser Family Foundation's website to find out more about their activities, publications and services.

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