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SANDF could help HIV/AIDS roll-out
Boyd Webb. 31 January 2007. The Mercury. Republished courtesy of Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd.
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Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka says the South African National Defence Force should help roll out the country?’s anti-retroviral programme.
?”We have a challenge with human resources and again I think there is a big role for the force in helping us to roll out the treatment. It continues to be a challenge because it is a very labour intensive activity,?” she said.
The Deputy President addressing a moral regeneration conference in Cape Town.
The cabinet appointed Mlambo-Ngcuka last year to head the ministerial team on HIV/AIDS after South Africa?’s domestic and international image received a battering during the International AIDS Conference in Canada.
She also heads the resuscitated South African National AIDS Council, which has taken strides in building bridges with Non-Governmental Organisations.
Treatment Action Campaign spokesman Nathan Geffen welcomed Mlambo-Ngcuka?’s proposal yesterday, stating that using SANDF members would go a long way to helping to alleviate the staff crisis within the health service.
While it was believed that there were 235 000 people on ARVs in the public health sector at present, Geffen said the reality was that nobody ken for sure.
?”This is one thing the SANDF could help us with is data capturing and ensuring that those who did start ARV programmes remained on them. There are about 5.5 million people living with HIV and sooner or later they will need to start taking medication for the disease,?” he said. |
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