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Province unveils antiretroviral plan for children
Jo-Anne Smetherham
2003-04-24

Children in the Western Cape need never again die from AIDS. This is the aim of a plan, announced this week by the province's health MEC Piet Meyer and health chief Craig Househam, to provide antiretroviral drugs to all the children and babies in the province who need them. The Western Cape will be the first province to provide the drugs to children. The plan will be finalised within two months, said provincial deputy-director general of health, Fareed Abdullah. There are more than 200 children taking ARVs at Groote Schuur, Tygerberg and Red Cross Children's hospitals and at the Medècins sans Frontières clinic in Khayelitsha. Between 500 and 1 000 more children in the province would probably need the drugs, said Abdullah. The number of children needing the drugs would increase as more babies were born with HIV. However, the province's aim was that, through the mother-to-child transmission prevention programme, no child should be born with HIV. The drugs would cost around R8 000 a child a year, Abdullah said. The programme had not been budgeted for, he said, but the department would review this year's budget. In March, the Western Cape became the first province to make Nevirapine available to all HIV-positive expectant mothers to prevent them passing on the virus to their babies. (Source: Jo-Anne Smetherham, The Cape Times, 17 April 2003)

Children in the Western Cape need never again die from AIDS.

This is the aim of a plan, announced this week by the province's health MEC Piet Meyer and health chief Craig Househam, to provide antiretroviral drugs to all the children and babies in the province who need them.

The Western Cape will be the first province to provide the drugs to children.

The plan will be finalised within two months, said provincial deputy-director general of health, Fareed Abdullah.

There are more than 200 children taking ARVs at Groote Schuur, Tygerberg and Red Cross Children's hospitals and at the Medècins sans Frontières clinic in Khayelitsha. Between 500 and 1 000 more children in the province would probably need the drugs, said Abdullah.

We are looking, now, at estimating the numbers of children who will need treatment, and the cost of a full-scale treatment programme, he said.

This is part of a wider assessment of the cost of possible treatment with antiretroviral therapy in the province.

As I and the Western Cape health minister have stated before, we are committed to treatment because we don't believe we can manage the epidemic without it.

The number of children needing the drugs would increase as more babies were born with HIV.

However, the province's aim was that, through the mother-to-child transmission prevention programme, no child should be born with HIV.

The drugs would cost around R8 000 a child a year, Abdullah said. The programme had not been budgeted for, he said, but the department would review this year's budget.

In March, the Western Cape became the first province to make Nevirapine available to all HIV-positive expectant mothers to prevent them passing on the virus to their babies.

DA health spokesman Robin Carlisle said the DA would approach a number of trusts and foundations to seek funding in this worthy undertaking.

Carlisle proposed in the provincial legislature last month that the drugs should be given to all the province's AIDS babies. ( Source: The Cape Times, 17 April 2003)

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