The Star reports that nurses have been hailed as the heart of the success of the antiretroviral treatment roll-out in South Africa, which has led to lives being saved.  

Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi said the Nurse Initiated Management of Antiretroviral Therapy (Nimart), started in 2010, was the best investment the country had made in saving lives.  He was speaking at the Nursing HIV pre-conference at the Durban ICC on Saturday.  Since the start of Nimart, 23,000 nurses have been trained to prescribe ARVs, increasing the number of people on treatment.  KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo indicated that 72% of people on treatment in the province collected it at primary health-care facilities run by nurses.  Motsoaledi also said nurses had also been central to the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission programme.

• Read this report by Nosipho Mngoma in full at IOL News

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