South African government to challenge HIV drug ruling

The South African government is to appeal against last week's high court ruling that state hospitals must dispense the Aids drug nevirapine to HIV-positive women giving birth in state hospitals.

But the health minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, made a significant concession to the public's unhappiness at the government's disinclination to provide the drugs by announcing that its policy will be reassessed, whatever the oucome of the appeal.

The govenment was challenging the ruling because it could shape the state's responsibility for social services.

A single dose of nevirapine halves the chance of a woman passing the virus on to her child at birth. About 70,000 babies a year are born HIV-positive in South Africa.

The government fears the ruling could open the door to legal action demanding anti-retroviral drugs for all the 4.7m HIV-positive South Africans.