Five million people stand to benefit from the scheme

But Stephen Lewis added that many people had died needlessly waiting for government intervention.

The South African Cabinet has approved a plan to distribute free Aids drugs to more than five million sufferers.

Zackie Achmat, the country's best-known Aids campaigner, described the decision as "really an enormous victory".

"I danced the whole morning," he told the BBC's World Today programme from Los Angeles where he is currently visiting.

Announcing the decision on Wednesday, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang acknowledged there was "still a long way to go" in the fight against Aids.

Under the plan, the government will establish a network of centres to distribute anti-retroviral drugs to fight the disease.

Mrs Tshabalala-Msimang said each of the country's roughly 50 health districts would have a distribution centre within a year.

Implementing the programme will require major upgrade of the health care system, recruiting and training large numbers of health care workers, she said.

Prevention

The government will also boost its prevention campaign and increase support for families affected by HIV/Aids, the minister said.

The government approved the universal anti-retroviral treatment programme in August, and ordered health officials to finalise an operational plan.

ANTIRETROVIRAL DRUGS Q&A: Antiretroviral drugs Guide: Biology of Aids HIV Drugs: Ask our panel

It was drafted with the assistance of the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation and presented to the Cabinet last week.

The BBC's Richard Hamilton in Johannesburg says a fall in the cost of anti-retroviral drugs has been a major factor in the government's change of strategy.

With an estimated 5.3 million South Africans - more than 12% of the population - infected with HIV/Aids, the health authorities face a significant challenge.

They also have to catch up on perceived lost time.

Health activists have long accused the government of dragging its feet, saying both President Thabo Mbeki and Health Minister Tshabalala-Msimang had failed to grasp the seriousness of the crisis.

An estimated 600 South Africans die every day of Aids-related causes.