SA intensifies efforts to close HIV treatment gap
Limpopo committed to major progress by the end of 2025 in the campaign to help 1.1m people return to HIV treatment.
LIMPOPO – The South African government has launched an urgent effort to close the 1.1 million–person HIV treatment gap through the “Close the Gap” treatment acceleration campaign, introduced in February this year.
The campaign seeks to help people who have stopped taking their HIV medication to return to treatment.
Mashatile highlights barriers to treatment return
Deputy President Paul Mashatile highlighted the initiative during the World Aids Day commemoration at the Masemola Stadium on Monday, 1 December.
This year’s theme, Renewed efforts and sustainable commitments to end Aids, calls for revitalised strategies that improve prevention, treatment and long-term care.
Mashatile said the treatment gap reflects a painful truth: progress against HIV is not permanent. He explained that the 1.1 million gap includes mothers who stopped treatment because transport was too costly, men discouraged by negative clinic experiences, young people who feared disclosure, and thousands who moved between provinces without continuity of care.
Mashatile emphasised that the campaign is a call to action, urging multi-sectoral coordination to strengthen community-based interventions such as door-to-door outreach and mobilisation across wards and districts.
Limpopo commits to closing its treatment gap
Limpopo Premier Dr Phophi Ramathuba also addressed the gathering, announcing that the province is committed to closing its treatment gap of 180 975 people by December 2025.
She noted great improvements in treatment outcomes over the past year.
Adult treatment retention increased from 83.9% in December 2024 to 87.6% by September 2025, while adult viral load suppression rose from 76.6% to 83.9% during the same period.
Child retention in care improved from 88.8% to 95% and child viral load suppression increased even more dramatically, from 52.8% to 91%, an overall improvement of 38.2%.
Ramathuba stressed that the fight against HIV cannot be won by the healthcare sector alone. It requires collective action from business, traditional leaders, labour, civil society and communities working together toward the same goal.
