* Mbeki government ridiculed for AIDS policy
* Zuma government making progress in curbing infections
By Peroshni Govender
PRETORIA, Aug 7 (Reuters) – The United States and South
Africa are to sign an agreement on funding for an anti-AIDS
campaign that is symbolic of Pretoria’s shift from being a
pariah to a global player in fighting the disease.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during a visit
to South Africa that Pretoria will begin taking more of the
responsibilities for its HIV/AIDS programme, part of a broader
effort to overhaul the U.S. global plan for AIDS relief launched
under former President George W. Bush.
“South Africa is taking the lead, and I want publicly to
commend your minister of health and his associates who are
widely being given great admiration around the world for the
success of their efforts,” Clinton told a news conference.
The United States limited access to HIV/AIDS funding to the
government of former President Thabo Mbeki, whose administration
was ridiculed for denying there was a link between HIV and AIDS
while prescribing meaningless treatments such as beet root
instead of internationally proven medicines.
President Jacob Zuma, who took office in 2009, put policies
in line with global research, strengthened campaigns to provide
nationwide the anti-retroviral drugs that control HIV and has
slowed an infection rate that ranks among the world’s highest.
On Wednesday, Clinton is expected to sign a deal to rework
South Africa’s programmes under what is known as “The
President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief” (PEPFAR), allowing
the government to better use the funding in its fight against
the virus.
Continued…
