KZN Aids drug rollout begins
Veronica Mohapeloa
16 April 2004
The KwaZulu-Natal government has announced its readiness to start dispensing antiretrovirals to people living with Aids in the province, in line with South Africa's national HIV/Aids management, care and treatment plan.
The plan - for which the government has set aside R300-million for provinces - aims to provide comprehensive care and treatment for people living with the life-threatening disease, and to help strengthen the country's national health system.
Announcing the province's plans, Health MEC Zweli Mkhize said the province would provide antiretroviral drugs to people whose CD4 count was hovering around 200, as not all people infected with the disease needed the drugs.
"This has been a long and arduous process, which was further complicated by the fact that these are sophisticated drugs that need a patient to be properly prepared before being put on the treatment programme", Mkhize said.
He said the main concern was to keep
people living with the disease as healthy as possible for as long as possible.
"There are many ways of doing this, including the early treatment of opportunistic infections, providing proper nutrition as well as community and family support", he said, adding that the province was targeting as many patients as possible that needed the treatment.
The hospitals that have been accredited to start the treatment programme include the King Edward VIII, M Gandhi and Addington hospitals in eThekwini, the Church of Scotland hospital in Umzinyathi, the Benedictine hospital in Zululand, Stanger hospital in Ilembe and Ngwelezane hospital in Uthungulu.
About 18 other hospitals in the province will start dispensing the drugs between May and September.
The announcement comes a day after the Gauteng government started dispensing the drugs at five hospitals in the province: the Johannesburg, Chris Hani Baragwanath, Helen Joseph, Coronation and Kalafong hospitals.
The
Health Department has so far accredited 27 hospitals countrywide - including those in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal - to implement the national HIV/Aids treatment plan.
Source: BuaNews
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