Independent
On-Line, 05 December 2002, Survey reveals shock Aids rate in W Cape
Once thought to have
the lowest HIV and Aids rates in the country, the
This is one of the findings in the first systematically sampled national survey
of HIV and Aids, funded by the Nelson Mandela Foundation and run by the Human
Sciences Research Council.
Mandela released the findings on Thursday at the Sandton Convention Centre in
The finding that the Western Cape had a much higher HIV prevalence rate (10,7
percent) than estimated on the basis of antenatal surveys (8,6 percent), could
be explained by the high percentage of informal settlements, where the rate was
far higher than in formal housing.
The
The report found people in informal urban settlements
are almost twice as likely to contract HIV and Aids as those in formal urban
housing, consolidating a link between poverty, overcrowding and the disease.
The highest rates were not in
The report urged the government to roll out
anti-retroviral treatment as soon as possible.
It also called for steps to drastically reduce the
price of drugs by removing VAT from medicines and encouraging a local
manufacturing industry.
"It is crucial that government uses the gains it
made in winning the case against the pharmaceutical companies to produce generic
versions of anti-retroviral drugs," it said.
"
The report recommended wide-ranging steps to improve
the treatment and prevention of the virus and to devote more resources to care
facilities.
Mandela, who has led a campaign to change HIV and
Aids policy over the past 12 months, said that it was vital to remove the
terrible stigma and discrimination associated with the disease.
"What is important is what we do on the ground
to ensure that people understand how HIV is contracted and how to deal with
it," he said at a briefing.
"We have to smash the perception that if you
enter a house where people have Aids, you will contract the virus."
Noting strong public support for provision of
anti-retrovirals, the report commended the government for its April 17 statement
on rolling out the drugs for HIV-positive mothers and victims of sexual assault,
and for significantly increasing state resources to counter the pandemic.
Earlier Mandela and the HSRC team briefed the
presidency, the health department and other government bodies.
The report said the roll-out of anti-retrovirals was
as urgent for all people living with Aids as it was for HIV-positive pregnant
mothers to prevent mother-to-child transmission.
Mandela's unveiling of the study comes after his
launch on Tuesday night of a joint programme, funded by the private sector, with
the Medical Association of South Africa to provide 9 000 public sector patients
with anti-retrovirals at 18 pilot sites.