The South African government’s spending on HIV/AIDS programmes – announced yesterday for 2009/2010 – is roughly the same amount as the US government is spending in our country on HIV/AIDS programmes.

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said that the total funding for HIV and AIDS programmes would be R4.4 billion in 2009/2010.

The US PEFPAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) funding to South Africa in the 2008 financial year was almost R4.5 billion ($590.9 million).

Both South Africa and PEPFAR have increased funding for HIV prevention, care and treatment by roughly four times in the last four years, since 2005. Antiretroviral treatment was rolled out in the public health system for the first time in 2003.

South Africa now has about 650 000 people on antiretroviral treatment and it is estimated an additional 300 000 people will need treatment every year. By March next year, an estimated 900 000 South Africans will be on treatment.

The Treasury has made a commitment to funding treatment but it still looks like South Africa is highly dependent on foreign donors to sustain the scale of its HIV/AIDS programmes.

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