Ya, SA can slash their budget because the US gave them all the money they needed...
South Africa slashes Aids budget by two thirds
By Nicol Degli Innocenti in Johannesburg and James Lamont in London
Published: February 2 2004 17:53 | Last Updated: February 2 2004 17:53
South Africa has cut its Aids budget for the current financial year by two thirds, reflecting the slow progress of delivery following the government's landmark decision to roll out free antiretroviral (ARV) drugs in all state hospitals.
The initial budget of R296m (£22m, $42m, €34m) for the first phase of the roll-out of treatment, up to the end of next month, has been cut to R90m by the Treasury, without explanation.
"The R90m allocated by Treasury is adequate for the preparatory phase," Joanne Collinge, spokeswoman for the health department, told the FT.
South Africa's national HIV/Aids treatment plan was approved last November and distribution of the drugs was expected to start within weeks. The health department said it planned to treat 53,000 people with ARVs by the end of March, but the delays make that target virtually impossible to achieve.
The lack of progress so far, the health department says, is due to the need to "do things properly and thoroughly". Aids activists, such as the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), blame the delays on "completely unjustifiable neglect" by the authorities.
"We seriously doubt the politicians' commitment to make a success of the plan," said Mark Heywood, TAC secretary. "Even the R90m still earmarked for ARVs have not yet been dispensed to the provinces."
About 600 people die of Aids-related diseases every day in South Africa, which has the highest number of HIV/Aids infected people in the world.
The slow progress has alarmed the United Nations, which is backing a World Health Organisation plan to get 3m people in Africa on Aids treatment by 2005. Stephen Lewis, the UN special envoy for Aids in Africa, said: "It is very, very hard work. [But] the TAC has expressed deep concern about the pending reduction in the budget."
Though pleased that the South African government had decided to introduce treatment, he said: "I find it hard to remove from my mind the people who have died [from the disease] along the road."
Mr Lewis stressed the importance of South Africa's lead in embracing treatment to its acceptance by other countries in the region.
According to the original plan, funding for Aids is set to increase exponentially from R296m this year to nearly R4.5bn by 2007/8.
Trevor Manuel, the minister of finance, will unveil the annual budget on February 18. "We cannot second-guess Mr Manuel but we wait to hear from him what the budget will be," Ms Collinge said. "Funding for the next financial year is the really crucial issue." |
