South Africa: HIV Treatment Waiting List a "Fraction" of Those in Need

On Monday, South Africa's Department of Health announced that, at the end of June, an estimated 31,255 HIV patients were on a waiting list to receive antiretroviral (ARV) treatment through the public health system. The department stressed that the figure -- a response to an anticipated parliamentary question -- was much smaller than the 500,000 to 800,000 patients who actually need ARVs.

The estimate was based on an Actuarial Society model that assumed 10-15 percent of the 5.4 million South Africans with HIV have progressed to needing ARV therapy. "The model does not necessarily take into consideration the impact of healthy lifestyle interventions in delaying progression from HIV infection to development of AIDS-defining conditions," the department said in its statement.

Many HIV-infected South Africans do not know they have the virus, since they have not been tested, and so they have yet to seek ARV treatment, said Nomonde Qundu, the department's head of HIV/AIDS. Otherwise, the figure for those needing treatment would be much higher, she said.

By the end of June, 178,635 HIV patients had begun ARV treatment, Qundu said, and an estimated 10,000 new patients are being enrolled per month. The country's shortfall in skilled personnel, particularly pharmacists, and procurement delays have hampered the uptake of public ARV treatment, she said.

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