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The Story of Aids: 4. The end of an epidemic?

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30/10/2021 GMT

4. The end of an epidemic?

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How activists and medical staff fought the government to U-turn on Aids treatment  in SA

How activists and medical staff fought the government to U-turn on Aids treatment  in South Africa.

When President Thabo Mbeki came to power in South Africa in 1999, the country was gripped by an Aids epidemic - and the president's decision to question scientific evidence, and reject the use of life-saving drugs, only made the situation even more dire. 

But activists and medical staff were ready to fight the government's position by any means.

We hear how the charity  Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) set up an HIV-Aids clinic in the township of Khayelitsha, and despite the threat of police raids, staff smuggled life-saving medication into the country at any cost. 

Relying on the protection of the local community - and customs staff willing to look the other way - they imported drugs to treat people living in one of the worst-affected communities in the country.

Meanwhile, the Aids activist group the Treatment Action Campaign were fighting another battle in the country's highest courts, in order to force the government to U-turn on Aids treatment and help save the lives of its citizens. 

Today, South Africa has the largest antiretroviral programme in the world, with around 5.5 million people receiving treatment. With effective treatment also available to protect people from getting the virus in the first place, is the UNAIDS goal of ending the global Aids epidemic by 2030 a realistic one?

Narrated by Audrey Brown
Written and produced by Richard Fenton-Smith
Sound mix by James Beard

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