South Africa has launched the world’s largest ever HIV testing program, in an attempt to aggressively cut down on the extremely high rates of the infection in the country.
The testing program is supported by politicians at the highest level, with President Jacob Zuma saying publically that he had been tested and was negative. The President has come in for criticism over his polygamous lifestyle, which many have said sets a bad example in a country that has been ravaged by AIDS. Mr Zuma once told a court that he had unprotected sex with an HIV-positive woman and has fathered at least 20 children by a variety of different women.
His move to get tested has been greeted positively by the UN’s Aids Agency Unaids, whose head Michael Sidibe said that while previously the biggest problem facing healthcare professionals in SA was that the doors were closed, now the ‘context has completely changed’.
He added that he hoped that the move by the government to push for HIV testing would encourage neighbours in Swaziland, Lesotho, Angola and Mozambique to follow a similar policy.
There were also calls for South Africa to change how they procure anti-retroviral drugs, as at the moment they pay significantly more than other nearby countries, as they prefer to purchase the medication from local suppliers.
South African authorities hope to get more than 15 million people tested for HIV before 2011 and subsequently to ensure that at least 80% of South Africans who require treatment receive the necessary anti-retroviral drugs.
Some 5.7 million people in S.A, out of a population of 48 million, are believed to be HIV positive, making it one of the countries that have been worst hit by the epidemic.