South Africa's battle against HIV/AIDS has been given a massive $165-million (about R1,8-billion) boost from the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria - almost double the national HIV/AIDS budget of R1-billion for this year.

Ground-breaking research aimed at using short courses of anti-retroviral drugs to boost the long-term immunity of babies with HIV is due to begin within weeks at St Mary's Hospital in Marianhill, outside Durban.

The cost of antiretroviral drugs means that many poor people are unable to access such treatment. One way in which some doctors assist their patients is to offer them access to antiretroviral drug trials. At Somerset Hospital in Cape Town some people in Stage 3 of AIDS are offered a combination of registered medicines as well as drugs that are still going through the final stages of development before registration. In this audio report, Khopotso Bodibe talks to two women - one is still participating in the trials and another who has withdrawn due to problems that arose during treatment.

Taking anti-retrovirals as part of a drug trial requires much more than the desire to recover one's health. It requires commitment to a drug regimen that involves rigorous adherence to swallowing a number of pills. Without the necessary counselling - and psychological and emotional support - it is very difficult to stay on the programme successfully and complete the treatment. In this audio report two women who have been on ARV therapy in a drug trial programme run by Somerset Hospital in Cape Town tell of their experiences. One of them, Elaine Maane, opted to pull out from the research.