‘Measures put in place to ensure TB, HIV patients do not to default’

Used blister packets that contained HIV medication.

2 minutes

The National Health Department says that it has put measures in place to ensure that patients receiving TB and HIV treatment do not default.

This follows United States’ abrupt foreign aid cuts which affected some Non-Governmental Organisations.

The department also says that it will this week consult with NGOs that the termination of the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) grant funding has affected.

It says they will discuss how to mitigate the impact and find a lasting solution.

“Pepfar was in 27 priority districts of the country, what we used to call highly burdened districts in terms of HIV/AIDS prevalence. Now, the impact is felt that way and the response we’re getting from the ground is also that there are areas where people would perhaps complain of having stayed too long in the queues. But what we did immediately after knowing this situation, we developed contingency plans to make sure that nobody gets frustrated and people that are on treatment stop taking treatment. So, as far as we’re concerned, we’re monitoring the situation on the ground and we are informed of the efforts that are being made to ensure that there is no disruption to services,” says Deputy Director-General for Health Programmes Ramphalane Morewane .