Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - Wednesday August 06, 2003
Claire Keeton
"There are no differences on whether it is the correct thing to do, but more on the speed at which it should be done," Health Director General Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba told journalists at the Durban conference.
"The conference has given a chance to look at some experiences on the antiretroviral treatment front," he said.
The needs for treatment and the efficacy of drug therapy have dominated the agenda of the four-day conference, which ends today.
A special session has been set aside today to look at the efficacy and safety of the drug Nevirapine - used to halve HIV transmission from mothers to their newborn babies - since the Medicines Control Council will deregister it, unless the council receives new evidence that Nevirapine works within the next three months.
Some 2,500 delegates from 52 countries -- including scientists, doctors, people with HIV/Aids, health officials and members of civil society -- have attended the conference, which is being held three years after a landmark international Aids conference in Durban.
Ntsaluba said this conference has been a platform for open dialogue on HIV/Aids and offered hope that South Africans can move forward together in combating the epidemic.
"It has been positive in that sense, not positive in the sense of many new things," he said.
The chief director of the department's HIV/Aids division, Dr Nono Simelela, agreed the first national conference had brought key players closer together in responding to challenges of HIV/Aids.
An estimated eight to 10 million South Africans will die of HIV/Aids by 2010 - in the absence of affordable, effective treatment delivered in the public and private sectors.
"The development gains we have made since 1994 are under threat as never before," warned Professor Alan Whiteside, an economist at the University of Natal.
030806
ST030802
Copyright © 2003 - The Sunday Times. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Sunday Times Permissions Desk.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bridgestone/Firestone Charitable Trust, Elton John AIDS Foundation UK, the National Library of Medicine, AIDS Walk of Orange County, 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.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2003. AEGiS. 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. .