SA’s brave HIV/Aids battle continues

IN JULY 2000, Nkosi Johnson stood on the stage of the 13th International Aids Conference in Durban and introduced himself at an 11-yearold who had been born HIV-positive and had full-blown Aids. He asked the government to help him and others living with HIV/Aids obtain access to education and medication.

Sadly, he died at the age of 12, but his activism helped overcome the stigma that held back the fight against the disease.

This week, his adoptive mother, Gail Johnson, was visited by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, who thanked her for encouraging Nkosi in his fight to be heard.

How the landscape of medical care has changed as Durban and South Africa welcome delegates to the 21st International Aids Conference, which begins on Monday.

In 2000, antiretroviral drugs were unavailable to most of the 5 million citizens living with HIV, largely owing to the climate of Aids denialism former president Thabo Mbeki.

But today almost 4 million people have access to drugs that are highly effective in reducing Aids and death. Life expectancy has increased and HIV is largely an outpatient disease.

We have made great progress with the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/Aids, which started in 2004. Then, more than 20 percent of babies born to HIV-positive mothers became infected with the virus. By 2014 this figure had dropped to 1.8 percent.

Aids activists and medics deserve the credit for saving so many lives. Bear in mind that the battle to give moms and babies a fighting chance went all the way to the Constitutional Court before the government relented.

The 18 000 conference delegates know there is still a long way to go. Southern Africa is home to half the world’s people living with HIV. Half of all new infections occur in South Africa, and young women are most at risk. The fight goes on to help them, through science and changing behaviour. Every life is precious.