KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC calls for urgent return to HIV treatment for over 200,000 ARV defaulters
KwaZulu-Natal's Health MEC urges over 200,000 ARV defaulters to return to treatment
KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane has urged people, with HIV, who have stopped taking their ARVs to return to the programme.
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KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane has sounded the alarm over the province’s growing number of people defaulting on life-saving antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, revealing that more than 200,000 individuals are believed to have stopped taking their medication.
Simelane is calling on these individuals to urgently return to care as the province intensifies its efforts under the Close the Gap campaign which is a national initiative aimed at re-enrolling more than 1.1 million South Africans who have fallen out of HIV treatment. The KZN health department, which has faced criticism for issues related to hospitals, has committed to tracing and bringing back 117,616 ARV defaulters by December 2025.
“We are really determined to bring people back on treatment,” Simelane said during the Department’s KZN Health Chat programme on Friday.
“As we always say, no one should die just because they’ve stopped taking medication that can suppress HIV to the point of being undetectable.”
While over 1.5 million people in the province are stable on treatment, Simelane expressed concern that many who once took ARVs have since stopped, often because they began to feel healthy again.
“In some ways, we are victims of our own success as a province. People take their medication until they feel so well that they think they can stop. But they only feel better because of the treatment,” she said.
The MEC also warned that defaulting on treatment could lead to drug resistance, making it more difficult and costly to manage HIV.
Another concern is the role of alcohol use in poor adherence.
"But if you must drink, do so in moderation — especially if you are on ARVs. Drinking too much makes it harder to keep track of time, let alone remember to take your medication," she said.
She encouraged those who have defaulted to visit their nearest clinic and speak to a healthcare worker, assuring that rejoining the programme is easy and without judgement.
“We urge everyone to stick to their treatment and for those who’ve stopped, to come back and re-enrol. Your life depends on it.”