South Africa Boosts AIDS Program

On Wednesday in his budget speech to South Africa's National Assembly, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel announced that the government's HIV/AIDS program funding will rise by 37 percent. Funding to provinces for antiretroviral treatment will increase by over 400 million rand ($66 million US) in the coming fiscal year, he said.

This fiscal year, the government granted HIV/AIDS programs 1.15 billion rand ($187 million US). For fiscal year 2006-07, the grant rises to 1.57 billion rand ($255 million US). The grant evens off after that, with funding of 1.65 billion rand ($271 million US) and 1.74 billion rand ($286 million US) in the following two fiscal years.

The provinces will also receive an HIV/AIDS life skills education grant, which will total 144 million rand ($24 million US) in the coming year. With the grants, provincial spending on HIV/AIDS is expected to total 2.3 billion rand ($378 million US) for 2006-07 and 2.8 billion rand ($462 million US) for 2008-09.

Manuel listed HIV/AIDS, along with care of child-headed households and managing children in conflict, as issues "among the social service priorities" of government.

South Africa's department of health said the country's strategy for 2006-07 and beyond will include strengthening social mobilization, a greater focus on youth, expanding treatment of STDs, offering group and individual counseling and offering better access to female condoms. The department allocated 23 million rand ($4 million US) to the national youth prevention program, LoveLife, for the coming year, and said funding for condoms will grow to 147.9 million rand ($24 million US) for 2008-09.

Currently, 112,000 of South Africa's 6 million people with HIV/AIDS are receiving ARVs.

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