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SA aggressively researching on HIV: minister

Xinhua, July 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

South African scientists are working around the clock with various international counterparts on finding a cure to HIV and other diseases, a government minister said on Tuesday.

In an interview with Xinhua, Minister of Science and Technology Naledi Pandor said the government is now funding one of the country's biggest research centres, Caprica for the research.

"Caprica which is one of the major beneficiaries of our funding has discovered that there are some women in KwaZulu-Natal Province who have a strong immunity against the HIV virus. They are currently working on it to see if we can extract something and use it a vaccine for treatment or immune booster," Pandor said.

"Sometimes we work with a consortium of scientist from overseas,"she added.

Pandor said there are various research centres in the country pursuing different approaches.

The government, she said, is also providing human capital to research institutes in the country.

She was speaking on the sidelines of the 21st International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016)taking place in Durban.

One of the issues raised by many experts at the conference is lack of funding for researches and innovations in addressing HIV/Aids.

Pandor said she agreed that there should be more researches and innovations in combating HIV/Aids.

SA scientists are currently studying the traditional vaccine to ascertain the claim that it could cure a certain disease like HIV.

Pandor said, "There is a need for much more research and innovation. We are moving away from the treatment linked to prevention to empower people especially women and girls. We are not going to sit on our laurels. We have a team of scientist working on various researches,"she said.

Pandor revealed that SA scientists are about to make a major breakthrough in treating malaria with a single dose.

This would be a great success if proven successful, Pandor said, adding that SA scientist are still perfecting it.

Scientists, she said, are also working with America doctors in researches on vaginal gel which would be seen as a breakthrough in preventing the HIV/Aids.

Pandor said, "The South African government response to the pandemic have been robust. We support research and want to do more. We have also introduced the wellness centre ad we encourage people to test for HIV/Aids. I have also tested for HIV."

The minister acknowledged that access to HIV treatment remains a problem for those marginalized especially in the rural areas.

She said people should not ignore other diseases like malaria and tuberculosis which would have given opportunistic infections. Endit