JOHANNESBURG -- Ministers in South Africa's industrial heartland province of Gauteng vowed to push ahead with an AIDS drug roll-out program, hours before announcing a pact with the national government publicly ending a row the issue, AFP reported.

Gauteng Health Minister Gwen Ramokgopa told Parliament in the province -- which includes Johannesburg and the capital Pretoria -- that the drug Nevirapine would be given to expectant mothers in almost all state hospitals there within three months.

Hours later, the provincial premier, a former stalwart of the country's powerful Union Federation, and the National Health Minister jointly announced that they had reached an agreement on AIDS policy and that the matter was "closed".

The statement followed a row which rocked the governing African National Congress (ANC) after Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa defied ANC policy by promising supplies of Nevirapine, an anti-retroviral drug, far beyond the scope of a national program for pregnant mothers and their babies.

The agreement between Shilowa, a former leader of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), and National Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang came after the two met behind closed doors late Friday at an undisclosed location, SABC public television reported.

"The meeting reaffirmed government's comprehensive approach to the campaign against HIV/AIDS, and emphasized that all elements of this program should form part of public discourse on this matter," the statement said.

President Thabo Mbeki's government, which this week announced an overall budget of some five billion rands (438 million dollars / 500 million euros) for programs related to HIV/AIDS, has been under mounting pressure from unions, churches and AIDS activists to roll out the drug.

The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) argues that Nevirapine could save the lives of at least 20,000 of the estimated 70,000 babies born annually with HIV.

The government has said that while it might extend its treatment program beyond 18 official test sites for the anti-retroviral Nevirapine, it would be necessary to wait for results from these sites and to prepare social and medical infrastructure.

Gauteng was the first ANC-controlled province to announce a roll-out program, following the western Cape and Kwazulu-natal in the east of the country, where the ANC has power-sharing pacts with coalition partners.

In all, South Africa has nine provinces and an estimated 4.7 million people are living with HIV/AIDS.

Friday's statement said that the national minister and the Guateng premier both took note of "experiences gained in the current pilot sites and the requirements to run an efficient and effective program...

"This approach proceeds from the premise that these pilot sites are for purposes of research. Some clarity has emerged on issues of capacity and resources required to take care of baby and mother even after administration of the drug."

"This has made it possible for government to consider extending sites where such capacity exists," the joint statement said.

However, it added that it would take time to establish the long-term impact of the administration of Nevirapine, such as resistance, possibilities of relapse and whether there were other negative consequences for mothers and babies.

The joint statement said this evolution process will take a year and more "from the beginning of the operation of the pilot sites" -- an estimate implying a further waiting period of at least four months.

"It was only on this basis, and depending on the outcome of this research, that consideration would then be given to whether it was advisable to introduce universal access (to Nevirapine)," the statement said.

"The Gauteng Province will continue with preparations to extend the research sites, in line with national guidelines and protocols. the minister and the premier consider this matter closed," the statement concluded.