Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Associated Press - Thursday, October 10, 2002
The announcement Wednesday night, following a Cabinet meeting, highlighted the serious change in the government's attitude toward a disease that threatens to overwhelm the nation.
An estimated 4.7 million South Africans, 11 percent of the population, are infected HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
In recent years, President Thabo Mbeki publicly questioned the link between HIV and AIDS and sought the counsel of dissident theorists who do not believe AIDS exists at all. He called AIDS drugs toxic and the government had rejected any suggestion it would distribute the medicine, saying it was far too expensive.
In a surprise announcement in April, the Cabinet said it endorsed the use of antiretroviral medicines, though they remained too costly for the government to distribute and the health care infrastructure was not adequate to administer them.
On Wednesday, the Cabinet said it was "actively engaged in addressing these challenges, in order to create the conditions that would make it feasible and effective to use antiretrovirals in the public health sector."
The government said it had drawn up regulations, in consultation with pharmaceutical companies, to ease the import and manufacture of cheap, generic AIDS drugs.
It also was working to strengthen the health care system and training health workers in specialized care for AIDS patients.
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