Expanding HIV testing and AIDS treatment in South Africa
In 2010, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) partnered with the South African government to undertake the largest expansion of HIV testing and AIDS treatment ever attempted in the world. CHAI's efforts to support the government’s goals included working directly with the national Department of Health and each of the country’s nine provinces to develop implementation plans for testing and treatment and to select facilities for antiretroviral treatment (ART) scale-up. CHAI also empowered the nursing staff; between April and December 2010 more than 2,200 nurses were trained in a standardized Nurse Initiated Management of ART (NIMART) curriculum. Most significantly, CHAI supported the Department of Health in designing and managing its ART tender, which will result in a savings of around $700 million over the next two years and will enable the government to dramatically increase the number of people on treatment within its current budget. In the 12 months since the project’s launch in April 2010, nearly 10 million people have been tested for HIV, more than 6 million symptomatically screened for TB, and over 400,000 people added to treatment.