Political leadership in South Africa: HIV

In January 2015, South African Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi adopted new World Health Organization guidelines that would increase the number of HIV-infected South Africans on antiretroviral treatment from nearly 3 million to 4.6 million by 2016. South Africa had the largest population of HIV-infected people in the world, and Motsoaledi's aggressive scale-up of testing and treatment since he took office in 2009 had improved the life expectancy of South Africans dramatically and garnered international praise. At the same time, Motsoaledi had been trying to create a national health insurance system and strengthen primary care.