SA is winning the war on AIDS, says Manto

The HIV infection rate among young South Africans has decreased dramatically, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said on Monday.

Speaking in Sandton, Johannesburg, Tshabalala-Msimang said the decrease was reflected in the HIV-prevalence report due to be released later in the day in Pretoria.

She said the infection rate of pregnant mothers aged below 20 between 1998 and 2000 had been 18 percent, but had now decreased to 15,4 percent.

"The decrease gives hope that government interventions and prevention campaign programmes have worked among young people.

"The decrease is also a proof that the tremendous efforts that government has made since 1994 to educate and inform people, particularly young people, is beginning to bear significant fruit," she said.

The prevalence report generally reflected a decrease in infection rates, which was seen most dramatically in the younger age groups, Tshabalala-Msimang said.

She encouraged South Africans to get a copy of the report. "It is an essential tool for business planning as the business sector will feel the full economic impact of HIV and AIDS."

According to a UNAIDS report issued at the end of 2001, an estimated 40-million people globally were living with HIV or had AIDS.

In many parts of the developing world, the majority of new infections occurred in young adults, with young women being most vulnerable.

"About one third of those people currently living with HIV and AIDS are aged between 15 and 24. Most of them do not know that they carry the virus."

Tshabalala-Msimang said recent estimates had suggested that HIV and AIDS could reduce Gross Domestic Product growth rates by an average of between 0,3 percent and 0,4 percent per annum over the next 15 years.

"The impact on human and social development is expected to be much more profound than reflected in limited indicators such as GDP or per capita GDP.

"Increased illness and death, and reduced life expectancy will clearly compromise developmental objectives. Affected people, especially orphans, will also have greatly reduced chances of fulfilling their human potential," she said.

[A summary report of the survey is available on the right-hand side of this page.]