Minister: Life saving HIV drugs must be made in SA
The only way to cut the cost of the medication needed to treat HIV and TB in SA and the African continent was to manufacture the drugs locally, according to Naledi Pandor, SA’s minister of science and technology.
Pandor was part of a panel speaking at the international Aids conference on Wednesday in which the national strategic plan on HIV, STIs and TB for 2017 to 2022 was being discussed.
She said the department of science and technology was a "strong advocate" for locally manufacturing pharmaceutical ingredients.
"We cannot rely on outside pharmaceutical companies to supply us with cost effective medication. At this conference, there are many people saying that the price of Aids and TB drugs has decreased, but that is in dollars. Dollars are very expensive when you live in Africa," she said.
"While I commend [health] minister [Aaron] Motsoaledi on improving framing and procurement processes for medication, I quarrel with him because South Africa and Africa must manufacture their own drugs. This will be a game changer in getting people on treatment," she said.
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The national strategic plan for the next five years should also be youth centred, with more research done in the field of education.
"We cannot afford to have boundaries any longer. The youth must be brought in on making decisions that affect them," she said.
Social sciences and biosciences needed to be brought closer together she said, and trans-disciplinary approaches must be sought for intervention.
South Africa should be more involved in finding an HIV cure, particularly a vaccine.
"There is active work being done at [Aids research centre] Caprisa, the University of Cape Town and Wits, but we neglect indigenous knowledge at our peril," she said.
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South Africa’s anti-retroviral treatment programme is the largest in the world, with more than 3 million people on medication. Globally, 15 million people are on treatment.
According to the department of health, South Africa had the third highest rate of TB in the world after China and India between 2009 and 2012. After 2013, it was ranked sixth.
The country’s TB epidemic is linked to HIV prevalence, with a co-infection rate of more than 60%, according to the department.
In 2014/2015, there were an estimated 270,000 new TB infections amongst people living with HIV, this out of a total of 450,000 new TB infections. TB is the leading cause of death for people living with HIV in South Africa.