By: XOLANI MBANJWA
PRETORIA, 6. October, 2009: South African health minister Aaron Motsoaledi has warned that the prevalence of HIV among pregnant women is still unacceptably high and that South Africa would be in “big trouble” if it did not take drastic measures to counter the pandemic.
Motsaoledi was releasing the results of the 2008 HIV antenatal survey in Pretoria Monday. It showed that the prevalence of HIV infections among pregnant women tested was 29,3 percent, down slightly from 29,4 in 2007.
The survey was the most important indicator of HIV prevalence among pregnant woman who attended public facilities for check-ups, said Motsoaledi, adding:
-The epidemic is hitting South Africa very hard. And the battle on the health system in South Africa is something that is not imaginable.
– And if we do not do anything about it in South Africa, we are going to be in very serious trouble. I am sitting here with hope that next time we do these surveys we are going to start seeing some differences, provided we start working together, said Motsoaledi.
A total of 33.927 women were tested in the survey.
KwaZulu-Natal had the highest percentage of pregnant women infected with HIV with 38,7 percent, followed by Mpumalanga (35,5), Free State (32,9), North West (31), Gauteng (29,9), Eastern Cape (27,6), Limpopo (20,7), Northern Cape (16,2) and Western Cape (16,1).
Motsaoledi said the surveys results confirmed earlier data from a survey last year by the Human Sciences Research Council, Medical Research Council and the Centre for Aids Development, Research and Evaluation “that we seem to be losing the battle, but not yet the war, in KZn and Mpumalanga”.
Women between the ages of 30 and 34 had the highest infection rate, and it increased from 39,6 percent in 2007 to 40,4 percent in 2008. The rate among women aged between 15 and 24 showed a slight decline, from 22,1 percent in 2007 to 21,7 percent in 2008.
In a frank admission, Motsoaledi said the government’s HIV/Aids awareness programmes appeared not to be sending the right messages about the pandemic and he promised he would work with the SA National Aids Council to develop new programmes.
Motsoaledi said the LoveLife project, an independent HIV/ Aids awareness drive, had more impact than Khomanani, the government’s main awareness programme.
Although tuberculosis was treatable and preventable, it remained a huge problem.
– Clearly, the epidemic HIV/Aids and TB are weighing so heavily on the country, and in almost every statistic you can see the effects of this epidemic, whether you’re talking about maternal health or neonatal deaths.
-TB itself is a treatable disease – it even has a vaccine – but it is a huge problem in South Africa. You can see the effects of this epidemic in everyday life, said Motsoaledi.
