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Overview

Universal access has contributed positively to the national response, with the setting of targets helping to galvanize the different stakeholders and fostering a consultative participatory process, (target setting, drafting and costing), resulting in the ownership of National Strategic Plan. However, major challenges remain around limited implementation capacity to fully operationalize the Strategic Plan.

While it is too early to assess the true impact of scale up, program reports already show signs of progress, with one of the largest treatment coverage programmes in the world now reaching half a million people, and prevention of mother to child transmission services available to over 50% of those in need. South Africa has recognized skilled human resource capacity as a major impediment towards rapid scale up of intervention programmes, particularly in the Provinces. This is a major challenge since human resource capacity - particularly in specialized fields of the health sector - cannot be developed overnight.

Other challenges include low uptake of prevention and weak service delivery structures more especially at lower levels. Conversely, South Africa has made great strides in addressing the issue of sustainable financing, ranking second in the world in terms of domestic spending on AIDS.

Progress towards universal access based on 2005 and 2007 reported UNGASS achievements and 2010 reported targets, as per data available*.

*Data sources:

Treatment: Global Report on the AIDS Epidemic, 2008

Care and support: UNICEF: Third Stocktaking Report, 2008

Prevention: UNICEF, WHO, UNAIDS, Towards Universal Access, 2008;  UNGASS Country Progress Reports, 2008; Country national surveys; UNGASS Country Progress Reports, 2008; Global Report on the AIDS Epidemic, 2008

National commitment: Global Report on the AIDS Epidemic, 2008