Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
South African Press Association - December 6, 2006
Its comment comes after Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka launched a new national strategic plan to fight the HIV/Aids epidemic during World Aids Day in Nelspruit last week.
Mlambo-Ngcuka said that government's plan is to halve the annual toll of new HIV infections by 2011.
Said Unicef: "The promise of a new partnership and new-found respect between the government and civil society gives hope to all of us, not least the millions of poor and voiceless, including children, who all desperately need the government to accelerate prevention treatment and response."
Since Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang fell ill, Mlambo-Ngcuka and Deputy Health Minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge have been widely seen as steering the country's HIV/Aids programme in a new, positive direction.
Aids lobbying bodies such as the Aids Law Project and the Treatment Action Campaign said there had been a noticeable difference in the government's attitude during the minister's absence.
Speaking in his capacity as chair of the United Nations Theme Group on HIV and Aids South Africa, Unicef country representative Macharia Kamau said South Africa had made great strides in the provision of treatment over the past two years.
It now has the fastest growing uptake and largest number of people on antiretroviral treatment. However, the organisation warned that treatment for infants infected by their mothers continues to lag behind that of treatment for adults by an "unacceptable margin".
Unicef pointed to the rate of deaths of parents, which continued to place more children into the ranks of orphans.
Unicef also urged government to redouble efforts to ensure prevention and treatment went hand in glove to secure children's survival for a better and brighter future.
"As long as prevention and treatment are outpaced by the rate of infection and deaths, the children of South Africa will have a dire future," said Unicef.
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