South Africa: Treatment Action Campaign Applauds Boost for AIDS Spending

Yesterday, the Treatment Action Campaign lauded the Gauteng health department for increasing its HIV/AIDS budget 47.8 percent to 515 million rand ($76 million US). "The Gauteng government has consistently demonstrated its political will to make its interventions work, and this large increase in funding for HIV/AIDS continues this trend," said TAC Research Coordinator Nathan Geffen. A Medical Research Council report released last year estimated that one in three deaths in Gauteng was due to HIV/AIDS. Provincial Minister of Health Brian Hlongwa said the province treated more than 41,000 patients in the last fiscal year, including 6,000 children. Hlongwa said the department aims to treat 65,000 people by the end of this fiscal year. Another priority is the revitalization of hospitals including Chris Hani Baragwanath, Germiston, Mamelodi and Tshwane District Hospital, as well as the building of new hospitals in areas that have not previously been serviced.

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