Deputy Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla during a media briefing on the outbreak of Monkeypox disease, also known as Mpox at Tshedimosetso House on 12 June 2024 in Pretoria. (Photo by Gallo Images/Lefty Shivambu)
Deputy Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla said the country is taking great strides in the fight against Aids and is on track with its goal of ending the spread of the disease as a public health threat by 2030.
Phaahla was speaking at the United Nations (UN) Aids Conference 2024 in Munich, Germany, which is running from 22 to 26 July.
He said this does not mean there will be no cases of HIV/Aids by then but rather it will be “completely under control”.
“In other words, we are aiming to reach a stage whereby [in] 2030 everybody will test and know their status and everyone who is positive for HIV will then be on treatment, and everybody who is on treatment will be virally suppressed, and also that we will achieve the target of making sure that young people are HIV-free. In other words, there should be no new infections.” Phaahla told SABC News.
He said he and other officials in attendance at the conference believe this is possible.
Mother-to-child transmission is not decreasing as quickly as it had before and the number of children living with HIV in SA is still high, Phaahla conceded.
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Wife of President Cyril Ramaphosa, Dr Tshepo Motsepe spoke on ending HIV in children, at the conference.
“When we talk about children we are still very low, worldwide,” Phaahla said. “The numbers are not huge, it’s the coverage that is the problem.
“More difficult is the issue of stopping new infections, especially amongst young people and especially amongst young girls and adolescent women.”
New initiatives will tackle this – both social mobilisation and biomedical preventative initiatives.
The deputy health minister said South Africa does not lack the political will to see this through.
In terms of resources, Phaahla said South Africa had been commended by international experts for having a specific budget for dealing with HIV/Aids.
While he did not believe South Africa was lacking resources either, Phaahla said he had urged government to maintain its budget and he had encouraged international donors to continue their support in tackling the disease.
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