The Department of Correctional Services has accepted the ruling of the court regarding the facilitation of prisoner access to anti-retroviral (ARV) therapy.

The Department said it will accordingly expedite the ARV treatment programme.

"Correctional Services also wishes to state unequivocally that at no stage has it ever defied or ignored court orders.

"Correctional Services, as any other juristic person, has a right in terms of the rules of court to appeal against any court decision which has a reasonable prospect of success on appeal," the Department said.

Correctional Services stated that in partnership with the Department of Health, significant progress in rolling out the HIV and AIDS programme had been made, nationally and in Durban Westville prison, which included ARV therapy and treatment.

"Advanced steps have also been taken to facilitate the accreditation of Durban Westville Correctional as an ARV site.

"Currently, at the Durban - Westville Correctional Centre alone there are 116 offenders who are on the ARV therapy and treatment programme, 71 of whom are on ARV medication," the Deaprtment explained.

Other interventions include the secondment of two fulltime lay counselors and three visiting doctors by the Department of Health to assist the rollout of the HIV and AIDS programme in Durban Westville.

"Even nationally the Department is progressively making progress in dealing with the pandemic as well, with three centres already accredited in Grootvlei Free State, Pietermaritzburg and Qalakabusha in KwaZulu Natal."

Nationally, 1959 inmates are on the ARV Therapy and Treatment Programme, said the Department.

It said it was continuing with its HIV Prevalence Survey in correctional centres, including an awareness raising campaign, to encourage inmates to do voluntary testing.

This, in order to gain a holistic picture in terms of the number of HIV and AIDS infected offenders.

The Department said it would continue to improve its facilitation of offender access to medical treatment in line with the Constitutional, legal and policy framework focusing on primary health care services, while facilitating access to accredited ARV sites and secondary and tertiary medical institutions.

Government's HIV and AIDS programme, saw an increase in public expenditure from R30 million in 1994 to over R3 billion in 2005/6.

The treatment programme includes 231 accredited health care facilities offering AIDS related health services, which include dispensing anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs.

By the end of March this year, 134 473 people had been initiated on ARV treatment at these facilities.