EFF OBSERVES WORLD AIDS DAY.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in Limpopo joins the world in observing World
Aids Day and wishes those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS good health.
While organisations such as UNAIDS acknowledge that tremendous strides have
been made since the first recorded AIDS case in 1981, due to ANC government
failures to provide enough medication, prevention and treatment programmes,
Limpopo is still far away from ending the HIV pandemic.
The EFF is concerned about the number of those living with the virus, which had
increased from an estimated 3.68 million in 2002, to 8.45 million this year. According
to Stats SA, the country’s population is estimated to be 60.6 million (by June 2022),
with Limpopo’s population accounting for more than 6 million.
Although the Covid-19 pandemic has, to some extent, thrown the spanner in the works
on HIV prevention and treatment programmes in Limpopo, government ought to have
spent some of the budgets returned to Treasury on HIV programmes.
The EFF demands an end to the shortage of HIV test kits, medication, equipment and
calls for implementation of programs aimed at improving access to healthcare and lifesaving antiretroviral treatments.
