SOUTH AFRICA: Amid assurances that it is acutely aware of "the need to strengthen the armoury in the fight against AIDS", South Africa's government has instructed its health department to develop urgently a plan to provide anti-retroviral drugs to people living with AIDS, writes Patrick Laurence.
However, the announcement, in the wake of last week's national AIDS conference where the AIDS threat to South Africa was once again heavily emphasised, is hedged with caveats. The sighs of relief from AIDS activists are thus tempered with scepticism.
The government information service warns that not everyone with HIV will need anti-retroviral drugs and that those whose illness has not yet progressed to an advanced stage should "lead a normal life through proper nutrition, healthy lifestyles and the treatment of opportunistic infections".
Recent statements by President Thabo Mbeki and his Minister of Health have reinforced the scepticism.
In the August 1st issue of ANC Today, Mr Mbeki defends the decision of the Medicines Control Council to deregister the anti-retroviral drug Nevirapine unless the manufacturing company (Boehringer Ingelheim) can provide further proof that it is effective.
The council's ultimatum follows its rejection of the findings of tests conducted in Uganda on Nevirapine's safety and efficacy.
The decision has deepened suspicions that the government is dragging its feet about implementing a constitutional court order to provide Nevirapine or an equivalent to HIV-positive pregnant women at state hospitals and their infants.