BMJ News reports on S. Africa's HIV prevention, treatment efforts

BMJ News reports on South African Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi's visit to the U.S. last week, where he spoke at a forum in Washington, D.C., on the efforts the government is making to promote HIV prevention and treatment and improve the country's health system. The publication notes that the health ministry has set a goal of testing the HIV status of 15 million people in the country by the end of the year - "nearly a third of its population of 50 million."

During the forum, Motsoaledi highlighted the gains the country had made in expanding HIV/AIDS treatment "to cover more than a million South Africans" and described the investment the South African government is making with HIV prevention and treatment programs targeting high-risk groups.

Ambassador Eric Goosby, the U.S. global AIDS coordinator, who also spoke at the forum, "praised South Africa's 'embracement of civil society' as a partner in all phases of its response to the [HIV/AIDS] epidemic," BMJ News writes. "We are seeing the benefit from [such relationships], with the programmes getting stronger and being more responsive," Goosby said, adding that South Africa is also demonstrating progress in integrating treatment programs into primary care.

The Kaiser Family Foundation includes a link to a webcast from the forum, where Goosby and Motsoaledi were joined by Jennifer Cooke, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies Africa Program, and Michael Sinclair, a senior vice president at Kaiser (3/29).