JOHANNESBURG, April 23 (AFP) - South Africa's AIDS policies are failing and the government urgently needs to make drugs freely available, a report by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) showed.
"Despite the creation of one of the most comprehensive policies and enabling legislation in the world, South Africa has not succeeded in implementing these plans sufficiently to make an impact on the reduction of the prevalence of HIV/AIDS," stated the SAHRC report, released this week.
The body urged the department of health to "lobby vigorously" for a budget increase since financial contraints remained a major obstacle.
"A national action plan for the universal access to anti-retrovirals should be the government's top priority and it is highly recommended that the national budget reflect this," the fourth annual economic and social rights report said.
"The urgency of reducing new infections and treating people living with AIDS requires not only political commitment but additional funding to tackle this pandemic."
The SAHRC, a body appointed by parliament to monitor human and social rights, compiled the 533-page report between 2000 and 2002 to review the government's progress in providing basic services.
The organisation urged the government to implement last year's Constitutional Court ruling which ordered it to provide anti-retroviral drugs to pregnant HIV-positive women.
The report said many departments lacked in implementing court orders.
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), the AIDS lobby group that brought the court action against the state, has since accused the government of not carrying out the court order.
The TAC recently embarked on a national civil disobedience campaign to protest against the state's failure for creating a national treatment programme. Dozens of AIDS activists have been arrested for illegal protests as part of the civil disobedience campaign.
South Africa has one of the highest AIDS rates in the world, with five million infected people in a population of 44 million and about 600 people die of AIDS every day.
030423
AF030452
©AFP 2003. All Rights Reserved. AFP articles contained on the AEGiS web site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without AFP's prior written permission. You may make one copy of each article for your personal, non-commercial use only; more copies would require AFP's prior written permission. obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP photos or materials. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP stories, photos or graphics. - http://www.afp.com/
AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, the National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2003. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
©1990, 2003 - AEGiS. AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.
