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Science 23 March 2007:
Vol. 315. no. 5819, p. 1651
DOI: 10.1126/science.315.5819.1651a
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ScienceScope

PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA--A new government plan aims to cut South Africa's HIV infection rate in half and to quadruple the number of infected persons receiving antiretroviral (ARV) therapy by 2011. The 5-year strategy, presented at a conference last week, sets targets to meet the commitments made by South Africa's vice president in December (Science, 1 December 2006, p. 1378). The government will ask Parliament for nearly $2 billion, about 40% of which would pay for ARV medications, and wants business donors to match that sum. Francois Venter, head of the Southern African HIV Clinicians Society, estimates that "more than a million" South Africans would be on ARVs in 5 years if the plan is fully implemented.

About 5.5 million South Africans are infected by HIV, and roughly 230,000 now receive ARV therapy. Robin Wood, co-director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre in Cape Town, calls the plan "a great advance." Although the goal may be difficult to reach, he says, "it's better to set targets too high than to have no targets."




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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)