Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has praised KwaZulu-Natal for being the only province to achieve a critical UN target in the fight against HIV.
Mkhize hoped that the launch of the new fixed-dose treatment, called TLD , would increase that number.
Carmen Pérez Casas, HIV strategy technical manager at Unitaid, said the new drug is stronger and more effective than others drugs on the market. She said it will also be affordable because South Africa had managed to secure it at a relatively low price.Image:“This product is more resistant to resistance. It’s more endurable, in the sense that it is harder for the virus to become resistant to the treatment. This basically means the treatment can last longer.
“The industry-led tryouts didn't include the different representation of the people in countries like South Africa. For example, only 9% of the people in the initial industry tryouts were black females, but the epidemic affects 42% of them - they were not represented. It was the same thing for people with co-infections like TB, which is the most common co-infection.”However, he warned pregnant women to not use the drug during the early stages of pregnancy.
Dr John Sargent, managing director of Vantage Technologies and co-founder of the BroadReach Healthcare, one of the partners involved in the campaign to achieve the target in Ugu, was delighted with the result.
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