“We know that HIV causes AIDS.”
With these words, the Health Minister, Barbara Hogan, ended an ignominious decade of Aids denial that has cost South Africa countless lives and has forced those with the virus to live in the shadows.
And, she went on to state that half of South Africa’s hospital admissions were related to the disease. She said she would step up treatment with conventional medicines and would improve interventions in mother-to-child transmission.
This from Sapa:

Hogan said government policies over the past 10 years had failed and
said South Africa needed to do much more to improve access to anti-AIDS
medicines. She vowed to step up the battle against AIDS, which now
accounts for half of all public hospital admissions.
She was applauded and praised at the opening ceremony of an
international AIDS vaccine conference by international scientists and
public health officials who were frequently spurned by former health
minister .
“A breath of fresh air,” said Alan Bernstein, executive director of
the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise.

Related posts:

1. Was Hogan right to break ranks? The answer is simple
2. Hogan apologises for asking for apology
3. Barbara Hogan shows human rights mettle on Dalai Lama
4. ANC apology on Aids would help heal the nation
5. Harvard statement on Mbeki and 330 000 Aids deaths: Full text