31 May 2006
The South African delegation to the United Nations General Assembly Special
Session (UNGASS) on HIV and AIDS is pleased that prevention is reassuming its
central position in the global discussions on HIV and AIDS, says the Minister
of Health Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.
Minister Tshabalala-Msimang was speaking at a roundtable discussion which
forms part of the UNGASS in New York today.
Minister Tshabalala-Msimang went on to urge the UNGASS not to reinvent the
wheel but build from the commitments we made through adoption of the
declaration of commitment on HIV and AIDS in 2001.
"The 2001 declaration acknowledges prevention as the mainstay of the
response and goes further to recognise that poverty, underdevelopment and
illiteracy are among the principal contributing factors to the spread of
HIV.
"We need to deal with obstacles undermining the global efforts to reach the
targets. Many of these issues have been discussed in the build-up to this
meeting. They include sustainable financing of HIV and AIDS programmes,
overcoming stigma and discrimination, feminisation of HIV and AIDS and health
systems challenges including shortage of health workers," said Minister
Tshabalala-Msimang.
She said comparative advantages of civil society structures to reach out to
their constituencies should be effectively utilised to enhance national
response and therefore more engagement between governments and civil society
should be encouraged.
Contact:
Sibani Mngadi
Cell: 082 772 0161
Issued by: Ministry of Health
31 May 2006
