Issued by Department of Health
23 November 2006
The Department of Health has officially taken over all the antiretroviral treatment (ART) projects initiated by Medicins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) in South Africa since 1999.
MSF had two projects in the country - one in Khayelitsha in Western Cape and another in Lusikisiki in Eastern Cape - offering antiretroviral therapy to people living with HIV and AIDS.
The MSF project in Khayelitsha was incorporated into the government's Comprehensive AIDS programme earlier this year, and work is in progress to take over the Lusikisiki project, which was funded by the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
The MSF was providing ART to at least 2 600 AIDS patients as part of their pilot treatment project in Khayelitsha by August 2005. The project in Lusikisiki was providing ARV treatment to at least 2 200 people during the handover in October 2006.
The Department of Health is committed to ensure that these patients have access to all the services that are provided to people living with HIV and AIDS through the Comprehensive Plan for Management, Care and Treatment of HIV and AIDS. This includes:
In Lusikisiki, the Department has taken responsibility for the provision of medicines, nutritional supplementation and other consumables necessary for the provision of quality care. Doctors from the nearby St Elizabeth Hospital have replaced the two doctors from MSF in providing treatment pending the appointment doctors for the clinic.
Department's Project Manager for the Comprehensive Plan, Dr David Kalombo said the Department has worked together with MSF to ensure that the project is expanded to cover all the element of the HIV and AIDS care and treatment programme as outlined in the Comprehensive Plan on HIV and AIDS.
"We had to ensure for instance that antiretroviral drugs are not delivered to patients by lay counselors as dispensing of medicine is a function limited to pharmacists and appropriately licensed health professionals," said Dr Kalombo.
For further information contact
Dr David Kalombo @ 0822950615 or Charity Bhengu @ 0836797424