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Health Minister lifts lid on HIV/AIDS planning
Christelle Terblanche. 11 June 2003. The Mercury. Republished courtesy of Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd.
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Health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has lifted the lid on aspects of the new HIV/AIDS treatment plan still being considered by the cabinet.
Speaking in her budget vote debate in the national council of provinces, she said the treatment options in the public health sector would be augmented by a "greater focus on nutrition, food supplementation and the use of immune boosters to encourage positive living and to delay the progression from HIV to AIDS".
The minister's personal obsession with nutrition recently put her in the firing line when she lauded the benefits of the African potato, olive oil and onions in fighting the disease.
Yesterday she said the joint task team established to examine and cost various options for strengthening the government's strategic plan on HIV/AIDS, particularly on treatment "will soon be dealt with by cabinet".
Support
Tshabalala-Msimang also revealed she was working with the departments of agriculture and of social development to provide support for those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS. It is understood this could result in the promotion of vegetable gardens to sustain communities ravaged by HIV/AIDS.
A third treatment option she gave a glimpse of was the special unit at the Medical Research Council researching the safety and efficacy of traditional herbal medicines.
In a recent interview with Independent Newspapers, she said she wanted nutrition to be an integral part of the treatment of HIV/AIDS and of tuberculosis.
She stressed she would not allow anti-retroviral treatment without patients having access to adequate nutrition. |
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