AIDS activists and doctors today won their battle to force the South African government to provide nevirapine to pregnant mothers who are infected with HIV.
Judge Chris Botha ruled that the government must make nevirapine available to all women giving birth in public hospitals.
The government must also establish a nationwide programme to reduce the rate of mother-to-child HIV transmission.
Manufacturer Boehringer Ingelheim has offered nevirapine free to developing countries, including South Africa. Nevirapine has been shown to reduce mother to child HIV transmission during labour by around 50 per cent, by giving just one dose to the mother and one dose to the child.
However, the South African government had argued that the drug's safety is unproven.