Historic case forces Department of Health to give life-saving drugs: An HIV-positive pregnant woman has a high chance of passing the virus on to her child during childbirth and breast feeding. The child soon sickens, and dies. Tens of thousands of babies were losing their live. In 2002 the Treatment Action Campaign, with lawyers from Section 27, won a landmark case against the Minister of Health. A few clinics were already trialling nevirapine, a drug that prevented the virus from passing to the child. The TAC wanted the Department to be ordered to, wherever possible and under the supervision of a doctor, immediately test pregnant mothers and give HIV-positive women the drug. The Department resisted, saying that the TAC was forcing policy on them that might cause long term problems for the Department, and that not enough was yet known to roll out the drug. The Constitutional Court disagreed. It said each case would be supervised by a doctor who would make sure the mother was tested and counselled, and whether nevirapine was suitable.

Health officials sell free drugs: In October 2010 police set up a sting operation and arrested two general workers from Esselen clinic in Johannesburg. Patients had been told that there were no free ARVs in stock. Later the workers approached them and offered to sell them the drugs for R80 to R100 per box. The workers were charged with theft and possession of prescribed medicines. Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi was furious, saying the charges were too lenient as such thefts sabotaged the Department’s attempts to tackle the pandemic.

Syndicate steals ARVs to make whoonga: In January 2011 two Tembisa men were arrested with ARVs worth R200 000. They were believed to be part of a syndicate making and selling whoonga.

Nurses steal and sell medicines: In November 2010 eight nurses from Nelson Mandela Hospital in Mthatha were arrested for stealing medicines worth about R200 000. The Eastern Cape Health Department said the nurses were selling the expensive drugs to private practitioners, and causing stock outs at the hospital.

Health officials steal and sell infant formula meant for poor HIV-positive mothers: In the Libode district of the Eastern Cape, seven people were arrested for stealing 12 000 tins of baby formula stored on Health Department premises. For HIV-positive mothers it is safer to use formula than breast feed. The officials sold the formula to businessmen to sell in shops.

TAC forces pharmaceutical companies to supply cheaper ARVs: In 2003 the TAC won a huge victory for AIDS sufferers and government. It and some HIV-positive people took drug manufacturers GlaxoSmithKline and Boehringer Ingelheim to the SA Competition Commission. They said prices charged for their essential medicines were far too high and so were directly responsible for the early deaths of AIDS patients who could not afford them. The Commission agreed, saying the companies had to allow licences for generic (the same but not branded, so cheaper) medicines to be manufactured. TAC also threatened to lay an excessive pricing complaint against the company Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS). BMS had a monopoly on a certain drug here, but charged a much lower price in some developed countries. They settled out of court and BMS dropped the price in South Africa by up to 80%.