By Andrew Quinn
Sibongile Sambo, smiling and clutching her new government-funded anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs, is a lonely symbol of Africa's progress in fighting its devastating Aids epidemic.
The 41-year-old South African is part of a wave of treatment across the continent as the government's roll out programmes to supply ARVs - until recently priced out of reach for most of the estimated 30 million Africans with HIV.
"Many people have died because they could not afford these tablets," Sambo said. "Maybe now that it is free, it is going to save a lot of people."
Doctors cheered at a ceremony in the Free State town Maybe, but it will take time.
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Doctors cheered at a ceremony in the Free State town of Welkom as Sambo was given the drugs. But she was alone, the only patient gutsy enough to publicly acknowledge her infection in a province with an estimated 400 000 HIV-positive people
That solitary bravery served as a reminder of Africa's challenge in addressing its Aids scourge.
While ARV drugs are increasingly cheap and available, the social stigma around Aids defies easy answers - a tough challenge for policymakers who are grappling with widespread poverty and creaky health infrastructure.
"People are afraid of being stigmatised so they don't want to show their face at the clinic," said Ghana's Health Minister Kwaku Afriyie, where officials have enrolled just 1 000 people in a free ARV programme aimed at reaching close to 30 000.
'Others believe that Aids is acquired spiritually when somebody curses you' "Others believe that Aids is acquired spiritually when somebody curses you, so they go to the fetishist or a priest for spiritual treatment," he said.
Africa's Aids crisis, long defined as one of access to the life-saving drugs, is changing as governments bring in ARVs to treat the sick and prices drop thanks to international pressure and increased generic drug production.
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