All hands on deck for the 21st International AIDS Conference
The Inter-Ministerial Committee says it is ready to the 21st International Aids Conference, getting underway in Durban today.
Chairperson Jeff Radebe briefed the media in the city yesterday.
He said security arrangements are on track and that it is all hands on deck for the conference.
"Our fight against HIV/AIDS and TB is chalk and cheese from where we were 15-years-ago. We have the world's largest HIV programme, we are dealing effectively with the issues around mother-to-child transmission but the challenge is still there" he said.
Meanwhile, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa told a Tripartite Business Summit in Umhlanga yesterday that stigma and discrimination continue to hinder the response to HIV and Aids.
"Although the number of people on treatment in this region has more than doubled since 2010 we are far short of what is needed. There is another huge problem of gender inequality and this is compounded by gender based violence and other human right violations.
"These impede access to essential services for millions of women. We must also recognise that most of the affected countries happen to be the low to medium income countries" he said.