Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

The US government has donated 50 million dollars towards a clinical research project focusing on the management and treatment of HIV within South Africa's defence force.

The money is to be channelled into Project Phidisa over the next five years. The project is a Joint Research Arrangement between the SANDF, the South African health department and the US departments of health and defence.

Speaking at the ceremony at 1 Military Hospital, Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said the project would also have an impact on the continent.

"The successful cooperation of Project Phidisa will not only be to the benefit of the Southern African region, but also to the African continent as well as to the broader international community," said Minister Lekota.

Project Phidisa focuses on the management and treatment of HIV infections among soldiers and their dependants. However, participation is voluntary.

The project was officially launched in 2003, and to date 2 641 patients have enrolled in the project, and of those, 730 are receiving antiretrovirals at Military Hospital in Cape Town, Umtata and Mtubatuba.

It aims to establish a clinical research infrastructure within the defence force in order to conduct studies on HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment.

It also aims to establish important biomedical and public health research capacity that can be used to address issues of critical importance.

"The combination of resources, expertise, as well as the goodwill of like-minded people is the only solution to the HIV and AIDS pandemic which seriously affects the livelihood of all people and not only defence force members," said Minister Lekota.

US Ambassador Jendayi Frazer expressed satisfaction with work done so far by the project.

"I also am gratified that, as its first focus for research, Project Phidisa is evaluating the impact of comprehensive HIV and AIDS treatment using antiretroviral drugs.

"Through this research and the treatment services provided in Project Phidisa, many lives will be extended and military families will be spared the most severe effects of HIV and AIDS," Ms Frazer said.