Gauteng Premier David Makhura Says Covid19 Halted the Fight Against HIV But Lessons Have Been Learned
- Gauteng Premier David Makhura says the fight against the HIV/Aids pandemic has taken a knock because of the coronavirus
- Makhura explains that the Covid19 forced the Department of Health to shift resources to focus on fighting the pandemic
- Stats SA says more than eight million people in the country are infected with HIV, however, a large number of them are not on treatment
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JOHANNESBURG - David Makhura, the Gauteng Premier, has put the spotlight on HIV/Aids and how the coronavirus pandemic has slowed down the progress into fighting against HIV.
Makhura expressed these concerns at a World Aids Day event at Duduza in the East Rand on Wednesday, 1 December.
Makhura says the Covid19 has meant that the Department of Health has had to reshuffle resources to deal with infections which means the focus is now on the pandemic, reports EWN.
Source: Getty Images
"Firstly, there has been a major disruption due to the reshuffling of all health resources and facilities and we have shifted the focus to Covid-19," said Makhura.
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Makhura added that although the focus has shifted, HIV/Aids still needs to be eradicated from society because it is a threat to public health.
Makhura says the province is back on track in fighting HIV
Makhura says the Gauteng province has learnt important lessons and they will no longer shift or refocus resources from the fight against other illnesses, reports SABC News.
"We have drawn important lessons when you fight one pandemic, don't shift your focus and resources away from the other," said Makura.
According to the latest figures provided by Statistics South Africa, more than eight million people in South Africa are living with HIV/Aids and a lot of them are not on any treatment, and Makhura says that will be addressed.
Take a look at what South Africans had to say about Makhura's comments:
@Dylan822 said:
“Fight hadn’t been easy as they were stealing PPE money.“
@Island_Tribe17 said:
"But stealing billions in PPE funds and expropriating food parcels meant for the poor, came naturally to @MYANC thugs, right? @David_Makhura @GautengANC."
@Fred32020840 said:
"Please don't lie."
@khosi_nation said:
"Amanga ahlaza HIV/Aids has been there long before Covid19."
UN says 4K people globally are infected with HIV daily
Briefly News previously reported that the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has published a report which states that 4 000 people worldwide are infected with HIV on a daily basis.
Marginalised groups remain the most vulnerable and susceptible to the virus. UNAIDS's goal is to eliminate AIDS before 2030. However, current infection rates are working against this goal and pose a threat to the world's ability to reach it.
An estimated 38 million people globally have HIV, with 70% of them living on the African continent, SABC News reports.
Source: Briefly News
