South Africa's AIDS Treatment Plan Boosted

In a country that till recently was suffering under the retrogressive regime of a former President, who questioned the connection between HIV and AIDS, and a Health Minister who advised the intake of beetroot, garlic and lemon juice as treatments for the disease, the announcement of new plans to fight HIV-AIDS by present President Jacob Zuma comes as a huge relief.

South Africa headed by President Zuma announced ambitious treatment plans, on the occasion of World AIDS Day on 1st December, which could be a lifesaver for the estimated 5.7 million people, the largest number of AIDS patients in any country, who are infected by the virus. The policies of former President Thabo Mbeki had led to more than 300,000 deaths in the country, according to studies.

President Zuma has announced that there will be an increase in the distribution of ARV's (Anti-retroviral medication) to patients of HIV. The main beneficiaries of these new plans will be babies infected by HIV, who will receive ARVs, even if they are younger than 1 year. There are also plans to prevent transmission of the virus from mother to child by starting treatment during pregnancy. Patients infected by both HIV and tuberculosis will be given priority for treatment.

The new plans, which according to President Zuma will be put into effect in April, are in accordance to the guidelines released by the WHO, the health organization of the United Nations (UN) on 30th November 2009, saying that HIV-infected pregnant women should be treated with ARV's earlier.

Ridiculed earlier for his infamous remark that he took a shower after indulging in sexual acts with an HIV-positive acquaintance to lower the risk of contracting the virus, President Zuma is now being applauded for his steps to fight the disease in a country where almost 1000 people die of AIDS everyday.

Announcing his plans he said, "Let there be no more shame, no more blame, no more discrimination and no more stigma. Let the politicization and endless debates about HIV and AIDS stop." He also compared the fight to the nation's earlier struggle against apartheid saying, "At another moment in our history, in another context, the liberation movement observed that the time comes in the life of any nation when there remain only two choices: submit or fight. That time has now come in our struggle to overcome AIDS. Let us declare now, as we declared then, that we shall not submit."