The South African government Thursday reaffirmed its commitment to fighting the HIV and AIDS pandemic in partnership with all sectors of society.

Themba Maseko, spokesman for the government, said in a press conference held in Cape Town, that his government will take concrete steps to strengthen joint action and cooperation among the various stakeholders.

He said that Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka had been mandated to strengthen the South African National AIDS Council ( SANAC) as a key forum for drawing in and listening to affected stakeholders and dealing with the HIV and AIDS pandemic.

With a total population of 47.4 million, South Africa has the largest HIV/AIDS population of 5.5 million in the world.

"Cabinet reaffirmed its commitment to fighting the pandemic in partnership with all sectors of our society, and resolved that concrete steps must be taken to strengthen joint action and cooperation among the various stakeholders," Maseko said.

"The revival and strengthening of SANAC will play a major role in pulling all the stakeholders together," he said.

The government also decided that an inter-ministerial committee be set up to strengthen and monitor the implementation of the government's HIV and AIDS program.

This decision was reached by the cabinet after noting that the HIV and AIDS pandemic was not just a health issue but a government- wide challenge.

He added that the committee would comprise the ministers of health, education, social development and provincial and local government, officials from the presidency, and other ministers.

Government's budget allocations for fighting the disease have grown by "a hundred fold over the past 12 years", Maseko said, adding that the government had recently noted that the country's ARV treatment program was "probably the largest in the world."

The South African government reported a few months ago that 134, 473 people had been initiated on government's ARV program by the end of March.

On top of this, there were an additional 80,000 people receiving ARVs through private medical treatment and the non- governmental sector, bringing the total to over 210,000.

Maseko acknowledged that the challenge facing government in dealing with HIV remains "huge", pointing out the need to constantly monitor patients to ensure adherence to the regime demanded by the ARV program.

"There are challenges and we know that with all our best intentions in the world, we may not be able to assist everyone all the time but it is our firm belief that we are turning the corner, "he said.

Source: Xinhua