Implementation and leadership key to success of new AIDS plan
Today President Zuma released government's new national strategic plan to fight HIV/AIDS (see here - PDF).
Key to the success of this plan will be how effectively the Zuma administration is able to implement it, and whether President Zuma will provide the leadership required to see his government's plans turned into action.
Government's previous HIV/AIDS plan was largely ineffective because, as the new plan notes, it lacked robust monitoring by government. No one took responsibility for outcomes.
For the new plan to succeed, government - in partnership with the provincial health departments - must put accountability measures at the heart of its efforts. Only by establishing clearly defined targets and an effective monitoring apparatus, in which the relevant personnel are held accountable for meeting those targets, will the new plan achieve its goals.
According to the latest Antenatal Sentinel HIV and Syphilis Prevalence Survey, the percentage of pregnant women who tested positive for HIV/AIDS has exceeded 30%, matching levels last reached in 2005. We are clearly not making the requisite progress in addressing this pandemic.