New Clinic in South Africa Offers Cheap, Affordable HIV Treatment

With a $1 million grant from the US Agency for International Development, South Africa on Tuesday opened an HIV treatment clinic designed to be an alternative to both the country's beleaguered public health system and expensive private care. US Ambassador Eric Bost was the first to be tested at the Zuzimpilo Medical Center in downtown Johannesburg.

The center's director, Dr. Tinyiko Khosa, said the clinic is targeting patients who earn less than 10,000 rand ($1,410 US) a month and cannot afford medical care or to take the day off to stand in long lines at government clinics where treatment is free. "Up until now, South Africans have only been able to go to the very expensive private sector or the public sector, which caters for the very poor," said Khosa. "We are bridging that gap."

The monthly cost of providing antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, including laboratory tests and consultations, is around 1,200 rand ($165 US), said Khosa. The clinic will offer these services for a monthly fee of 350 rand ($48 US). Khosa said the goal is to have 1,000 people on ARV treatment after a year and conduct about eight HIV tests per day. Plans are underway to open similar clinics across South Africa.

Dr. Neil Martinson, an AIDS expert who helped open the clinic, said that despite the government's free treatment program, working people are still dying of AIDS, suggesting a need for alternative treatment services.

Also on Tuesday, the Department of Health released figures from April 2005 to March 2006 showing more than 1.7 million South Africans received pre-HIV test counseling, of whom 80 percent underwent testing. Around 35 percent of those who were tested were found to be HIV-positive.

Back to other news for November 30, 2006