Ruling leads to increased access to HIV treatment

PEOPLE living with HIV and Aids will now have increased access to treatment and prevention medicines after the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled against an association representing a small group of doctors seeking to stop the implementation of Pharmacist-Initiated Management of Antiretroviral Therapy (Pimart).

- ZELDA VENTER

THE SCA supported the Pimad initiative to enhance HIV treatment access to patients when it turned down an appeal by a group of doctors who had objected to this as they felt this was stepping on their domain. I File

This is an intervention premised on improving access to HIV and Aids treatment and associated medicines.

The regulator of the pharmacy profession, the South African Pharmacy Council (SACP), through Pimart, aimed to improve access to healthcare for HIV first-line treatment, given the inadequacies of previous initiatives. The SCA found that Pimart was rationally connected to that objective, as it promotes the right to access healthcare and supports the fight against HIV.

The Independent Practitioners Association Foundation (IPA), in 2023 turned to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, to stop the implementation of Pimart.