Access

Published online 26 September 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.1138

News

Incoming South African health minister raises hopes on HIV

But new medicines bill triggers conflict-of-interest fears.

Natasha Gilbert & Michael Cherry

Leading AIDS campaigners have welcomed the appointment of Barbara Hogan as South Africa's new health minister yesterday, saying she will usher in a new era of hope for the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS in the country.

But in the midst of a week of political turmoil, the South African parliament has also quietly passed a new law that gives the new minister sweeping authority over the approval of new medicines and a remit to regulate traditional medicines alongside conventional pharmaceuticals.

Comments

Reader comments are usually moderated after posting. If you find something offensive or inappropriate, you can speed this process by clicking 'Report this comment' (or, if that doesn't work for you, email redesign@nature.com). For more controversial topics, we reserve the right to moderate before comments are published.

  • ...and one of the things she will have to face quite soon is the fact that the vaccine development arm of the South African AIDS Vaccine Initiative (SAAVI) - which has a pipeline of likely prospects as well as two vaccines in vials awaiting imminent clinical trial - has been crippled by one of her fellow ministers. Meaning Mosibudi Mangena's Dept of Science and Technology pulled its support for SAAVI vaccine development specifically, leaving the the development team at the University of Cape Town high and dry. Suddenly, the only HIV vaccine development effort native to Africa has been sunk, for no good reason that any of us have been able to ascertain. Ex Africa semper aliquid novi...NOT, in this case. Ed Rybicki University of Cape Town

    • 29 Sep, 2008
    • Posted by: Ed Rybicki