29 January - Doctors Without Borders, an international humanitarian organisation, begins importing a cheap, generic version of patented AIDS drugs into South Africa in a direct defiance to South Africa's patent laws
March - Sivan Pillay, Ed Jordan, Nkhensani Mangani and Karl Anderson are appointed as the first judges of major reality show Coca Cola Popstars, which yields two new pop groups, winners 101 and runners-up Afro Z
15 July - Nelson Mandela calls on government and business leaders worldwide to find ways to provide access to treatment to those people living with HIV/AIDS
August
8 August - The government announces the go-ahead for an anti-retroviral roll-out plan
9 August - Ed Fagan leds a $50bn class action suit by a few apartheid-era victims against international firms and banks who profited from dealings with apartheid government
25 August - The Medicines Control Council threatens to de-register Nevirapine unless further studies and appropriate documentation can show its efficacy in the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV