19 December 2008
	HIV/AIDS Good plan, little money By Shoks Mzolo

Barbara Hogan describes herself as "street wise". However, the health minister will require more than this in her new job. She will need political savvy if she's going to succeed in getting national treasury to provide more money for her department's anti-HIV/Aids initiatives. The impact of HIV/Aids on economic growth and the alarming statistics - the pandemic is responsible for 1 000 deaths a day and for slashing life expectancy to the upper 40s - haven't been enough to convince treasury to pour billions more rand into combating the scourge. But Hogan, who has previously chaired parliament's finance committee, hopes to change that. Finance minister Trevor Manuel should brace himself - Hogan is armed with a good understanding of how treasury works. Barbara Hogan - Needs more funding A look at the kitty thus far doesn't inspire confidence. "Even if you combine the grants we receive from Global Fund, Pepfar and other donor organisations with the money from government, it doesn't come close to the R45bn that the five-year national strategic plan [to fight Aids] calls for," says Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) secretary-general Vuyiseka Dubula. Hogan has been praised for her progressive stance on HIV/Aids, but critics say she has only begun to scratch the surface of the problem. They say she must focus on: Closing the gap between the alarming rate of new infections and the pedestrian rate of growth of people on antiretroviral (ARV) drugs; Dealing with the lack of capacity and funding, which has meant that thousands of HIV-positive people in need of treatment continue to die while waiting for the life-saving drugs; and Overcoming SA's dubious honour as world leader in HIV/Aids infections. The plan is to more than double the number of people on ARV drugs to almost 1m by 2009. But given a glaring lack of capacity on the ground, it's hard to see how this will happen, says Dubula. Incompetence in the health department is only serving to make matters worse. On Hogan's watch, the department's continued bungling has led to critical shortages of both ARVs and condoms. To be fair, the minister has inherited a disaster from her predecessor, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, and fixing the mess will not be easy.