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Anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs sit on a shelf in the pharmacy at the Ubuntu clinic in Khayelitsha, Cape Town.
Treatment Action Campaign members and people living with HIV/AIDS are calling on the South African National AIDS Council chairperson, Paul Mashatile, to implement the six-month supply of antiretroviral for people who are stable on HIV treatment.
They are picketing outside the Sisa Dukashe stadium in Mdantsane in the Eastern Cape, where Mashatile is expected to deliver the keynote address at the World Aids Day commemoration.
Picketers say currently, antiretroviral treatment is supplied for only two months.
Secretary-General of the Treatment Action Campaign, Anele Yawa, says the six-month supply will also save government packaging costs.
“The benefit of the six-month supply, one it will reduce congestion in our clinics, it will reduce the number of visits for people who frequent in clinics, but also in terms of cost saving, government knows whatever tender they embark on, those people will have a responsibility to package and deliver medicine twice a year.”
Today marks World AIDS Day, a global call to action in the fight against HIV.
This year’s international theme, “Putting People First,” emphasises the importance of prioritising the needs and well-being of individuals affected by HIV.
World AIDS Day | Give stable patients six months supply of ARVs: TAC
