According to the department of health, the aim of the National Aids Council will be to provide a co-ordinated platform where government and civil society can interact to organise a more multi-sectoral, less fragmented approach in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Faced with the daunting task of trying to manage an AIDS epidemic which has the potential "to overwhelm our services", care givers, doctors, nurses and management from the Gauteng Health Department recently met in Johannesburg, hoping to find answers. Dr Liz Floyd, head of the province'€™s AIDS programme, said they were already losing people prematurely. "Good, fast treatment could have avoided that," she said.

Once again the battle against the South African AIDS epidemic has been dealt a blow with controversy and politicking surrounding the long awaited announcement of the National AIDS Council.Now the danger, according to AIDS activists, is that as in the past with Sarafina 2 and Virodene, good intentions on the side of government, will do more harm than good.