Opening Remarks by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa at the South African National Aids Council plenary, Protea Hotel, Kempton Park
Honourable Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi
Deputy Chairperson of SANAC, Ms Steve Letsike
CEO of SANAC, Dr Fareed Abdullah
SANAC Board of Trustees
Ladies and gentlemen
It is a great pleasure to welcome you to this plenary of the South African National Aids Council.
It is a particular pleasure to welcome the newly-appointed Trustees of the SANAC Trust.
I have no doubt that they will bring the necessary leadership, vision and impetus to our national fight against HIV, AIDS and TB.
Our newly appointed SANAC Trustees are:
- Ms Sheila Mbele
- Mr Mluleki Zazini
- Dr Gwen Ramokgopa
- Mr Pholokgolo Ramothwala
- Ms Steve Letsike
- Dr Yogan Pillay
- Mr Mthetho Tshemese
- Prof Kholeka Mlisana
- Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba
- Ms Thandi Orleyn
Thank you all for accepting this invitation to become part of the critical work that SANAC is doing.
We wish to extend our gratitude to the outgoing SANAC Trustees, who, under the leadership of Zak Yacoob, served the SANAC community with great dedication and diligence.
We last held a SANAC plenary in Secunda, Mpumalanga in November last year.
Since then we have held a successful Lekgotla in June this year, where we took key resolutions on our work.
This meeting provides an opportunity to take stock of the work done since the Lekgotla and to identify areas where we need to focus our efforts.
Minister Motsoaledi will provide an overview on South Africa's HIV and TB response, drawing largely on the mid-term review of the National Strategic Plan.
We know that we have made important progress in several areas.
We have continued to expand our HIV treatment programme, with over 3 million people on antiretroviral treatment.
We have reduced mother-to-child transmission further.
Yet we are still struggling to reduce rates of transmission, particularly among young women.
All TB indicators are improving, but there is still a great deal to reach our targets.
We anticipate that Minister Motsoaledi's presentation will allow us to delve into the impact of our response, better to understand where we need to be directing energy and resources.
We will receive various reports on matters arising from the Lekgotla resolutions.
This will include a report on a resource plan for SANAC.
National Treasury has commenced a review of the budgets and funding channels of SANAC and the Secretariat, and their report is expected at the end of the first quarter of 2016.
Resourcing the AIDS Council Secretariats and civil society organisations at both national and provincial level remains a challenge.
We need to acknowledge that we have not yet succeeded in finding suitable mechanisms to ensure that civil society formations are adequately resourced and capacitated to do the critical work that is expected of them.
We must continue to be seized with this issue.
We also expect a report on the development of a Private Sector Engagement Strategy to ensure the private sector is more extensively involved in the national AIDS response.
In the past, the engagement of the private sector in the AIDS response has been fragmented, with the result that its impact has been less than optimal.
A key recommendation from the strategy is that SANAC needs to strengthen its relationship with private sector leadership and begin to re-engage with business leaders at all levels.
This, coupled with a strong and relevant communications strategy, will drive a process of continuous engagement with the business sector.
We will also discuss the South African National Sex Worker HIV Programme, which seeks to address the high rates of prevalence particularly among female sex workers.
The issue of strengthening the provincial, district and local AIDS Councils was one of the key resolutions of the SANAC Lekgotla.
The Secretariat has undertaken an assessment of Provincial Councils on AIDS to determine the existing capacity and challenges in order to develop a national strategy to strengthen them.
This is essential work, because the value of SANAC lies in its ability to bring together all stakeholders, across the country, and all communities, to coordinate efforts to combat HIV and TB.
It is simply not sufficient for SANAC to operate at a national level.
It is at a provincial and local level where much of the work is done. It his here where the most resources are needed and where collaboration is most important.
We meet on the eve of the World AIDS Day.
We hope that this year, we can use World AIDS Day to focus attention on the many local projects, programmes and initiatives that are making a real difference in this struggle.
We want to salute the many heroes and heroines across this country who are involved in this cause, and to strengthen their resolve and determination.
As we know, in July next year South Africa will be hosting the 21st International AIDS Conference in Durban.
The conference will bring together scientists, policymakers, world leaders, and people living with HIV to discuss successes and challenges across the world.
Beyond hosting the conference, we expect that South Africa's contribution to global knowledge on HIV, AIDS and TB will be immense.
There is much that others can learn from our experience, just as we stand to benefit from the great congregation of people who will gather there from around the world.
As we open this plenary, I wish to thank you once more for your hard work and commitment to the mission and goals of SANAC.
I thank you.
