South Africa to redouble efforts to control the spread of HIV

South African Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has asserted that her top priority is to combat HIV/AIDS in South Africa. She predicted that by the year 2005 6 million South Africans will be infected with AIDS. Without government intervention, there would be about a million orphaned children. The quest for affordable antiretroviral drugs will continue. In the absence of a cure for AIDS, the government needs to focus on public awareness campaigns and changing the behavior of the public concerning the disease. A unified intersectoral approach with community organizations, the promotion of sexual abstinence, and the use of condoms are very essential factors in fighting the epidemic.