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We must fight against HIV/AIDS, not each other
30 October 2006. The Mercury. Republished courtesy of Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd.
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Effective implementation of HIV treatment and prevention could save a million lives in 2007, civil society delegates said after a two-day conference in Randburg at the weekend.
However, unity between the government and civil society would be vital in reaching this goal, the Treatment Action Campaign said after the talks, which were attended by 350 delegates.
Those involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS had to work together, Deputy-President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said. ?“We have to make sure that our energy is dedicated to the fight against HIV/AIDS and not against each other,?” she said.
She also called for the primary health-care sector to be rebuilt and for more human resources to be made available. Her plea for unity echoed statements made by the Congress of SA Trade Unions (COSATU), the Treatment Action Campaign and the Health Ministry.
She said a restructuring of the SA National AIDS Council (SANAC) should allow for it to represent religious groups, health professionals and women. The body should be sued to ?“protect unity and manage our differences?” in the fight againt HIV/AIDS.
COSATU President Willie Madisha asked the government to end its self-congratulatory attitude on its policies. ?“We need to stop perpetuating self-praise that says ours are the best policies in the world ?… what has got to happen is implementation.?”
He called for unity between the TAC and the National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS, and said that conflict between them was wasting energy.
In her speech, Deputy Health Minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge was frank about the government?’s progress on fighting the disease. She said that while ?“tremendous efforts?” were being made to fight HIV/AIDS, there were still unacceptably high levels of new infections and deaths. |
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