Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
South African Press Association (Johannesburg) - July 5, 2002
Achmat, who is ill and reportedly close to full-blown Aids, says he will not take ARVs until the government has begun to make them available to all South Africans for therapeutic purposes.
He is so weak that he has turned down an invitation to speak at next week's international Aids2002 conference in Barcelona, Spain.
"Obviously we're elated; we feel vindicated," he said from his Cape Town home after the judgement, which denied the government leave to appeal against a high court ruling forcing it to provide ARVs to stop mother-to child transmission of the HI virus.
"We call on the government to work with us in making comprehensive HIV care a reality for all," Achmat said.
He said the ruling gave him confidence to continue pressuring the government.
It also gave him hope that the government would change its position on making ARVs available as therapeutic treatment for all HIV-positive people, not just for mother-to-child transmission prevention.
He has said previously he will not take the drugs -- which could save his life -- before the government has agreed to at least pilot projects for ARV treatment in state hospitals in every province in the country.
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