HIV testing campaign commended

"Of this number, 13 million people were tested in the public health facilities. The significant achievement this campaign has attained in one year is indicative that we are slowly restoring public confidence in public health," said Dlamini at a Social Protection and Community Development Cluster briefing on Tuesday, 30 August 2011.

She said this was the first time South Africa had created a "unified, coherent and effective" public awareness drive on HIV and Aids.

By the end of June, the HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) campaign had reached over 14.7 million South Africans.

Dlamini said that government's aim was to build on the success of this campaign, adding that the Department of Health would champion "a major initiative to improve the health of women and children."

"A key element of this initiative is the significant reduction of mother-to-child transmission rates of HIV, which contributed to the reduction in maternal and child mortality rates."

The minister said empirical evidence indicated that the transmission rates had "significantly declined" from 8% to 3.5% nationally.

She said a recent report by the Health Advisory and Coordination Committee had indicated that the current baseline life expectancy of South Africans was 56.6 years (54 for males and 59 years for females).

"Our target is to increase life expectancy to 58.5 years by 2014/2015."

On another issue, the minister said government was concerned by the recent spate of traffic accidents involving public transport, including the bus accident in the Western Cape which claimed the lives of 14 school children.

"This month alone, an estimated 60 people died in separate accidents, mainly in the Western Cape, Mpumalanga, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.

"In line with the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety, Minister (Sibusiso) Ndebele has called on all MECs to ensure that all provinces intensify the implementation of road safety programmes," she said.

Dlamini said that this would include improving visibility and clamping down on those who break traffic regulations.

Her department would also continue to roll out anti-substance abuse programmes across the country. They had also finalized regulations that would bring the Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse Act into operation, she said.

In addition, she said, the department had reviewed the National Drug Master Plan and the structure of the Central Drug Authority (CDA), "with the view to strengthen government's determination to tackle alcohol and substance abuse."