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| SA vows to treat babies with HIV | SA vows to treat babies with HIV |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| All South African babies under the age of one with be treated if they test HIV positive, President Jacob Zuma has announced in a major policy overhaul. | |
| In a speech to mark World Aids Day in Pretoria, he said he hoped the change in policy would save infants' lives. | |
| And he announced he was preparing to take the test himself. | |
| The government estimates 5.5 million people live with the disease - the highest rate in the world - and 59,000 babies are born infected each year. | |
| The US has announced it will give $120m (£73m) to help fight HIV/Aids. | |
| Currently, treatment in South Africa is available only if tests show low levels of immunity. | |
| Mr Zuma's speech is a marked departure from his successor, Thabo Mbeki, whose government denied the link between HIV and Aids. | |
| Mr Mbeki's critics have accused him of causing 300,000 deaths by not rolling out antiretroviral drugs to people with Aids. | |
| Mr Zuma announced in his speech that it was start of "an era of openness" and urged South Africans to take responsibility for themselves. | |
| "I am making arrangements for my own test," he told crowds in Pretoria. | |
| "I have taken HIV tests before, and I know my status. I will do another test soon as part of this new campaign. I urge you to start planning for your own tests." | |
| He said the measures would come into force in April next year. |