JOHANNESBURG SOUTH – The National Freedom Party leader, Zanele KaMagwaza-Msibi, has urged government to improve the rollout of antiretroviral (ARVs) in rural areas.
“The improved rollout of ARVs is critically important as it will prolong the lives of those already infected with the pandemic.
“While we appreciate the positive attitude implemented by government in increasing the rollout of ARVs, we are concerned that patients in rural areas still battle to get their medication timeously due to a number of reasons, including the fact that some areas have no clinics; hospitals are very far and are costly to already jobless people who are forced to spend huge amounts of money for transport alone.
“As the NFP, we urge government to look for other means in ensuring that patients can collect their medication in time. This may include using churches, community halls and school halls, where health officials will come once a month and conduct sessions with patients and hand them their medication.
“This will not only assist in ensuring that people collect their medication monthly, but it is also cost-effective to the patient as there’s no area that does not have a school or a church,” said KaMagwaza-Msibi.
NFP reported that it is estimated that two hundred thousand people in South Africa still die every year of HIV-related causes, and that more than two million South Africans are said to be on government-funded ARV treatment.
