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Medical Research Council puts the spotlight on herbal medicine
Christelle Terreblanche. 14 May 2003. The Mercury. Republished courtesy of Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd.
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The Medical Research Council has set up a special unit to study the use of traditional medicines in the fight against HIV/AIDS, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang revealed.
Speaking in her budget vote debate on Tuesday, the minister again brought up the role of nutrition in the fight, but did not repeat her diet of African potatoes, onions and olive oil to MPs, which was recently defended in parliament by Deputy President Jacob Zuma.
While about 40 members of the Treatment Action Campaign listened in the public gallery, Tshabalala-Msimang said there was "clear evidence that good nutrition, the use of immune-boosting supplements, including some traditional herbal remedies, constant emotional support and generally healthy lifestyles prolong good health and delay the onset of AIDS".
"In the case of traditional medicines - that are quite widely used in relation to HIV and AIDS, but poorly understood - the Medical Research Council has set up a unit on indigenous knowledge systems to evaluate the safety and efficacy of these traditional herbal remedies," she said.
The Democratic Alliance tore into the Tshabalala-Msimang's stance on nutrition and again called for her replacement. DA health spokesperson Sandy Kalyan referred to the minister's appointment of controversial "dissident" adviser on nutrition Roberto Grinaldo, who, she said, believed that poor nutrition caused AIDS.
Kalyan accused Tshabalala-Msimang of endorsing his view, "which is seriously flawed in many respects, most notably, that the African potato was found to damage bone marrow".
"About 40 percent of all South Africans live in poverty and a great percentage of them are HIV-positive. How are they going to afford virgin olive oil and garlic?" she asked.
Contrary to expectations, Tshabalala-Msimang did not provide details on the findings of the government's joint health and treasury task team, which recently completed a comprehensive projection of the costs of various HIV and AIDS treatment options, including the use of anti-retrovirals, crucial for the finalisation of a treatment plan in conjunction with civil society.
The budget has provisionally made available R1,1-billion for the provision of anti-retroviral drugs, pending the task team decision.
The minister only said the report would be presented to cabinet "in the very near future and a decision will be taken on this issue that has come to dominate the public debate on HIV and AIDS".
Tshabalala-Msimang also revealed that she had received a letter from the executive director of the Global Fund For AIDS, Professor Richard Feachem, whose recent visit to South Africa was shrouded in controversy after the government told him they were not ready to sign an agreement on funding.
According to Tshabalala-Msimang, he had been "very impressed by the commitment and the work he had seen in South Africa in both public and civil society sectors".
"Despite technical requirements that delayed the signing of the Global Fund agreements, the fund's visit was fruitful and he was confident that the agreement will shortly be formalised," the minister said about the letter.
"Therefore, whatever the challenges we continue to face, they should not detract from our national effort in confronting the twin epidemics of TB and AIDS," she said.
"Every passing day confirms the wisdom of a comprehensive approach to this challenge, an approach that is anchored and based on a developmental perspective." |
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