Almost all South Africans are in favour of implementing anti-retroviral therapy to HIV-positive pregnant mothers and those people living with HIV/AIDS, a Human Sciences Research Council survey has revealed.

Drawing on a sample of 9 963 people countrywide, participants answered a comprehensive questionnaire on behaviour, communication, socio-economic and socio-cultural aspects of HIV/AIDS.

The fact that the overwhelming majority of people of all races (95%+) believe that government should provide ARVs to prevent transmission of HIV from mother to child and also to treat people living with HIV/AIDS, demonstrated the high level of awareness of South Africans on the issue, the report concluded.

The report pointed out that recent public debate on access to treatment for pregnant women and their newborns as well as the court case against government had probably contributed to influencing public opinion on the matter.

The study also reviewed public perceptions regarding the extent to which South African leaders were considered to be politically committed to combating the epidemic.

The majority of South Africans aged 15 years and above believed that the leaders of this country were committed to controlling HIV/AIDS. But these perceptions varied substantially by race.

While black South Africans were more likely to view leaders as committed to HIV/AIDS control, white South Africans were more likely to perceive them as not committed. Indian and coloured South Africans were also less likely to perceive Government as committed to AIDS control.

The majority of South Africans believed political leaders recognised the importance of HIV/AIDS. But only 47,5% of South Africans viewed the government as allocating sufficient resources to deal with the epidemic. Only half of black South Africans and 43,3% of coloured South Africans believed the government was allocating enough resources to tackle the epidemic, while whites and Indians were also less likely to perceive the allocation as adequate.

According to the report, those who were previously most disadvantaged by the policies of the previous government were more likely to view the government as showing commitment to the problem of HIV/Aids.

However, the rest of South African (except the residents of Limpopo and Mpumalanga who mostly believed it was enough) perceived the government as not providing sufficient resources for tackling the epidemic.