The Portfolio Committee on Health welcomes the new HIV treatment regime which will see HIV positive patients only take one pill a day, instead of the three pills they have been taking on a daily basis.
The new treatment regime will be rolled out from today and the Committee applauds the department for this, as it will make the lives of those on treatment easier. “It will make compliance easier for people who are on treatment, as they won’t necessarily default on the treatment, as defaulting builds up resistance,” says Committee Chairperson, Dr Bevan Goqwana.
The new treatment regime will also serve as a preventative measure to the virus as it will lower the viral load. However, the Committee is concerned that delivering medicine to rural areas is still a challenge for the department and hopes that the department will ensure that the delivery of the new regime reaches even the most remote areas of South Africa. “The treatment will be meaningless if it can’t be accessed by everyone, and we urge the government to ensure that it’s accessible to everyone,” says Dr Goqwana.
For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact:
Kanyisa Ndyondya (Ms)
Parliamentary Communication Services
Tel: 021 403 8041
Cell: 082 650 5456
E-mail: kndyondya@parliament.gov.za
