SOUTH AFRICA: South Africa's Death Rate Doubled in a Decade: Health Minister

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2009. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

SOUTH AFRICA: South Africa's Death Rate Doubled in a Decade: Health Minister

Agence France Presse (11.10.09) - Wednesday, November 11, 2009

In a move that highlights the sharp break President Jacob Zuma has made with the HIV/AIDS policies of his predecessor, South Africa's health minister on Tuesday reported mortality figures he characterized as "shocking." "In 11 years, from 1997 to 2008, the rate of death has doubled in South Africa," Aaron Motsoaledi said in Cape Town. "I don't think we'd have been here if we'd approached the problem in a different way." Former President Thabo Mbeki publicly doubted that HIV caused AIDS, and his health minster promoted alternative dietary treatments while hundreds of thousands died without access to antiretrovirals. "Yes, our attitude toward HIV/AIDS put us here where we are," Motsoaledi said. The government now is working to halve the number of new HIV infections and provide treatment to 80 percent of those needing it by 2011.
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