As the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) nears completion of the next National Strategic Plan (NSP) on HIV, TB, and STIs (2017-2022), lofty ambitions for positive outcomes are in place. However, what provinces and districts are expected to measure in order to track implementation and incremental steps toward these goals is—at this point—completely absent from the NSP.
As we move towards the release of South Africa’s latest National Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS, TB and STI’s it is important to celebrate the successes achieved since the end of AIDS denialism and the introduction of a revitalised AIDS response in 2006.
by Ariane Nevin and Thulani Ndlovu- Evidence has shown that prisons are a key battleground in the fight against HIV and TB.This means that any HIV and TB plan that doesn’t address the drivers of HIV and TB in prisons will fall woefully short of achieving its goals. And sadly, the latest draft of the NSP, with its inadequate prison-focused interventions, looks set to do just that.
By Ufrieda Ho – In money terms, Gauteng’s health budget looks plump and healthy at R37,4 billion for the 2016-2017 financial year – R2.07 billion more than the previous financial year.
Delays at the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) has meant that the new NSP (National Strategic Plan) will now only be ready in March 2017. By Anso Thom and Marcus Low.
By Salmaan Keshavjee – Tuberculosis (TB) has surpassed HIV/AIDS as the biggest infectious killer of adults worldwide. In 2015, an estimated 10.4 million people became sick with the disease – one million of whom were children – and 1.8 million people died.
Marcus Low – Last month the annual Union World Conference on Lung Health was held in Liverpool, United Kingdom. As always at this conferences, much was said about how the world needs to step up the fight against tuberculosis (TB) – about how we need new agendas and paradigm shifts.
By Mike Frick – The world spent less on tuberculosis (TB) research in 2015 than it did in 2009. This decrease in spending does not track a similar decline in TB incidence or mortality.
By Marcus Low, Spotlight Editor – At the end of this year South Africa’s big plan to fight HIV and tuberculosis (TB) comes to an end. The National Strategic Plan (NSP) for HIV, TB and STIs 2012 – 2016 will be replaced by the 2017 – 2021 NSP. It is vital that the new NSP avoids the mistakes of the past and fully incorporates new scientific evidence.
By Marcus Low & Lotti Rutter – In the early days of the AIDS epidemic, the high price of antiretroviral medicines meant many lives were unnecessarily lost. While the global AIDS movement managed to force lower prices for key ARVs, the wider battle has not yet been won.
