JOHANNESBURG, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The prevalence of
HIV in South Africa is on the decrease, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang
said in parliament on Thursday.
Speaking in her budget debate in the national
assembly, Tshabalala-Msimang said a survey that would be released soon would
show that the prevalence of HIV had decreased in the past two years.
She said the preliminary findings of the latest
survey of HIV prevalence among pregnant women attending public antenatal
clinics, demonstrated a downward trend in HIV prevalence.
"The 2007 survey shows that HIV prevalence has
decreased from an estimated 29.2 percent in 2006 to 28.0 percent in 2007," she
said.
"HIV prevalence in the 15-19 years age group dropped
from 13.7 percent in 2006 to 12.9 percent in 2007; in addition, a decrease was
observed in the 25-29 years age group from 38.7 percent in 2006 to 37.9 percent
in 2007.
"The rate in the 20-24 years group was stable between
2006-2007," she said.
Taken together, these figures suggested a trend of
decreasing HIV prevalence overall, she added.
She attributed the encouraging trend to intensive
prevention campaigns that were beginning to make a difference in reducing HIV
infection.
The full report detailing findings of the survey on
the prevalence of HIV and syphilis in the country would be released within the
next few weeks, the minister added.
