Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - February 15, 2008
Anton Ferreira
Her remarks to a parliamentary briefing followed disciplinary action launched against a doctor in KwaZulu-Natal, Colin Pfaff, who has been using the treatment on his own initiative.
Pfaff used donor funds to add the anti-retroviral drug AZT to the Nevirapine treatment that pregnant HIV-positive women were getting. But the province's health department has accused him of doing so without permission.
Asked if she supported dual therapy, Tshabalala-Msimang said: "I was the first to raise concerns about mono therapy [the use of Nevirapine alone]."
However, she said she could not intervene to help Pfaff because the dispute was between him and his employer, the province.
"He hasn't written to me," she said. "I can't just jump in. If he feels aggrieved he knows the channels to follow."
Tshabalala-Msimang said she expected the use of dual therapy to be expanded this year.
The minister said her department was also developing regulations for the private health sector: "The aim is to create transparency and curb escalating costs that are driven by various factors. These regulations should be out for public comment by April."
Tshabalala-Msimang said some private sector companies were being "really very co-operative".
She said: "They do understand that making a profit is one thing, but there's a need to be ethical in providing health care that is affordable."
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