Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) founder Zackie Achmat said Andrews’€™ death was tragic and untimely.

‘€œSteve supported TAC against drug companies, fought with government and he was a great doctor and friend.

‘€œHe treated countless patients with HIV and was my doctor in the most difficult period of HIV between 1999 and 2004,’€ said Achmat.

Dr Francois Venter, president of the Southern African HIV Clinicians Society remembered Andrews as one of the most committed, gentle and caring doctors he knew.

‘€œHis sense of humour, engaged active teaching, and his complete humanity when discussing his patients’ problems was an inspiration.   He has provided support to the HIV treating community through the Clinicians Society for over a year.   I am going to miss him very, very much, as a colleague and as a friend,’€ said Venter.

TAC General Secretary Vuyiseka Dubula said Andrews was ‘€œa kind of doctor to any person who was ill.

‘€œHis patients’ well-being was paramount, he was committed to the principles of family medicine and he was prepared to take on the world for a cause he believed in.’€

A University of Cape Town graduate, Andrews had been working in the HIV field since 1995 and was involved in the design and implementation of many HIV interventions in the public and private sectors.
Andrews ran a part time private practice in Brooklyn, Cape Town and was a consultant to various public and private HIV programmes. He also worked for some time at the Medecins Sans Frontieres HIV programme in Khayelitsha.

He was s a senior medical advisor to the Aid for AIDS disease management program, as well as an HIV bioethics consultant. He was also the HIV clinical consultant to the Council for Health Service Accreditation of Southern Africa, responsible for the design of management standards for HIV at district and provincial level hospitals.

In 2001, Andrews defied the Pfizer patent and dispensed the life saving drug Biozole to his patients with Cryptococcus meningitis and various forms of thrush. TAC has illegally imported the generic Biozole from Thailand.

He then supported TAC’€™s defiance campaign to put pressure to Pfizer to drop the price of Fluconazole.

He was also a complainant to the competition commission case between the TAC and Glaxo SmithKline which stood accused of charging high prices for their antiretroviral drugs.

Andrews also supported the protest against Bristol Myers Squibb to drop the prices of antiretrovirals and was involved in the Beat it! ( Siyanqoba) programme.