opening of the third South African AIDS conference, Durban
5 June 2007
Chairperson, Dr Olive Shisana
His Majesty, King Zwelithini
Honourable Cabinet Ministers and Members of Parliament
The Honourable Mayor of Durban City, Mr Obed Mlaba
Leaders of the various formations of civil society
The Executive Director of United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), Dr
Peter Piot
Government officials
Representatives of development partners
People living with HIV
Representatives of community-based organisations
Ladies and gentlemen
Good evening
The third South African National AIDS conference that brings together
international and local scientists, opinion-makers, activist, care-givers and
officials all working in the arena of HIV and AIDS, happens at an important
time when South Africans of all sectors have taken two giant leaps.
One, we have restructured and reinvigorated the South African National AIDS
Council and two, we have adopted the National Strategic Plan or NSP for HIV and
AIDS and Sexual Transmitted Infections (STIs) for 2007-11 and I trust that the
conference will further strengthen our country's national partnership against
HIV and AIDS and STIs. This strategy will promote a shared scientific knowledge
and integrated approaches to the management of HIV and AIDS and its impact on
our continent.
We are honoured to have all of you here for the next few days. I am told
that the last two conferences were major successes and I know that such
interactions usually improve over time. I am, therefore, wishing you well at
what should be an even better conference this year.
An interaction of scientists, opinion-makers, activist, caregivers and
officials is bound to yield rich knowledge and new challenges. It is through
such constructive interactions that honest views and genuine partnerships
emerge and are consolidated. The multi-sectoral nature of conference
demonstrates the complexity of the disease and need to take a holistic approach
and to also deal with socio-economic issues.
Government is grateful for your ability to take this comprehensive outlook,
which we had always promoted. Thank you to all of you who for taking us up to
this point where we now have a new South African National AIDS Council (SANAC)
and the National Strategic Plan (NSP) 2007-11.
This pandemic has, forced us to work together as we recognised that the sum
of the whole is bigger than its parts. We are learning that we have to work in
new ways and paradigms. We are adapting to the relevant challenges of the day.
Changes in our communities affect the practice of religion, culture, medicine,
social development, politics, education in schools, economics, and in our
sexual conduct, all have had to take into account the reality of HIV and AIDS.
However, at a personal level, responsibility and power lies with each and every
one of us to change the patterns of transmission and the impact of HIV and
AIDS. Each one of us whether HIV negative or positive has a special role to
play.
As per our goals of NSP we must have activities that we can monitor whose
impact we can gauge. There are signs to suggest that the South African HIV and
AIDS epidemic has now reached its peak with about 12% of a total population of
46 million estimated to be living with HIV and some of these infections have
not been identified. New infections still occur; many people require treatment,
care and support.
Unfortunately, those who do not know their status as a result cannot access
treatment when they have to, and have become major sources for the spread of
the disease in the general population. We have been pointing out the impact of
the pandemic on women, but we must be concerned about the fact that men are
less likely to know their status, yet they are the ones who tend to have
multiple partners and are less enthusiastic about protected sex. There is a lot
that we still do not know about men and need to know hence the importance of
the men's sector and the focus on lifestyle changes and testing by men.
A fairly large number of adults and children that have been identified as
HIV positive have access to a range of interventions including treatment of
opportunistic infections, nutrition, anti-retrovirals (ARV), and terminal
palliative care. All of which requires us to plan and use our human resource
very wisely and optimally. Contrary to many urban legends about South Africa,
this country has the largest ARV programme in the world, but it is also true
that the estimated need is huge, the scale of the problem requires for us to
continue to find innovative ways to quicken the pace of increasing access to
health services. I also know we have the will even though we do not have all
capabilities, we must lean on each other.
We are also aware that we have to manage our resources in a manner that
provides a better health system for all, and to respond to the challenges of
building a healthy nation.
We need as suggested by the theme to build consensus, on many fronts, on
prevention, treatment, and care. Government is thankful that we have in South
Africa, reached a consensus on the national response to HIV and AIDS and STIs
for the next five years, as contained in the document the Strategic Plan for
HIV and AIDS and STIs for South Africa: 2007-11.
What I am urging you to do, going forward is to be concrete on the actions
and to be proactive, ethical and vigilant in your work. The process of reaching
a national consensus was most challenging but ultimately rewarding, with the
involvement of the South African National AIDS Council we can now proudly say
that there is a comprehensive strategy that is owned by all the major players
in the field. As I move around in the country, I hear references to this new
National Strategic Plan (NSP). I know that tomorrow, the experts will give you
a comprehensive understanding of the plan.
Beyond these collective responsibilities, various professional groups in our
society have additional specific responsibilities. Traditional leaders, you
have a critical responsibility to enforce the protective traditional practices
that promote the health of our people. You also have the responsibility to
discourage traditional practices that may not have been harmful in the past,
but which in the present age, enable HIV to spread. In many communities you are
the opinion leaders in shaping community social values.
We are unambiguous in saying that we rely on you to contribute in this very
difficult task of changing value. We need you to be vocal and visible on these
issues.
To our traditional healers we say: we encourage you to work with the health
care system to heal people who are ill and to facilitate referrals for those
who need treatment in clinics and hospitals. We need you to counsel and help
people take their treatment and to lead a healthy lifestyle. Please continue to
work with us. We ask the same of our traditional leadership and we thank you
for your work and your cooperation through the National House of Traditional
Leaders.
Health workers, civil servants and caregivers, you have a specific
responsibility to provide evidence-based prevention, treatment, care and
support services in partnership with organisations in your communities.
Participating and in this conference is an opportunity to acquire new insights
and skills that facilitate better treatment and care. Yours is a very hard and
sometimes thankless job. I want to express our appreciation and continued
support. 'Umbulelo ongazenzisiyo'.
Scientists are another professional grouping that has specific
responsibilities. It is vital that scientists go beyond conducting scientific
studies to working with policymakers to translate evidence into interventions
and programmes. They also have to ensure that their research contributes to the
monitoring and the evaluation of the National Strategic Plan, to make inputs
into the development of a national policy on male circumcision. We must manage
the public announcements on prevention and claims of cure that if not managed
properly can send messages that encourage risky behaviour. The announcement
about circumcision worries us specifically the manner in which it is being
communicated.
We wish to thank our Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang for her sterling work
she did to prepare the National Strategic Plan and wish to welcome her back
from her sick leave. We also wish to thank Minister Jeff Radebe who ably took
care of the Department while Minister Tshabalala-Msimang was recuperating.
South Africa would like to be part of the global networks that do research
and contribute to finding solutions. Our scientists also have a responsibility
to develop the capacity of the next generation researchers. A successful
scientist should be the one who has developed others to do what he/she is good
at. More of our young people must be encouraged to become scientists so that
they can develop new prevention, treatment and care approaches. South Africa
wants to build and has the capability to be part of the global pharmaceutical
economy.
We also have skills to help our country to cope with task of caring for
millions of vulnerable and orphaned children.
Ladies and gentlemen: Our AIDS activists are mobilising in communities, the
recent South African Local Government Association conference deliberated on
mainstreaming the National Strategic Plan (NSP) in municipalities, and the
South African media is endorsing it. We have seen that the theme in the budget
speech for the Health department in the North West province was the
implementation and commitment of resources for the NSP.
I am also aware that the Managing Editor of the South African Medical
Journal has given a favourable review of the NSP in the May issue of this
journal. We thank you for that contribution.
We are glad that development partners are supporting the Plan, and various
government departments are working on their operational plans. At our last
meeting, we also learnt that different sectors were working on sector plans.
The South African National AIDS Council (Sanac) will only succeed if those
sector plans succeed. At this point I want to welcome and congratulate the
deputy Chairperson-elect of Sanac, Mark Haywood. I look forward to working with
you.
Chairperson, we are furthermore reassured that through the Inter-Ministerial
Committee, government will continue to give guidance with respect to the
implementation of this national plan, which was adopted by Cabinet as well as
by the new National South African AIDS Council. Many South Africans now know
about the ambitious targets of halving the rate of new infections and covering
80% of identified HIV positive individuals with appropriate services during the
strategic plan period of 2007-11.
We shall continue to support research both to improve our service delivery
systems and approaches and to look for better prevention and treatment options.
We have identified a set of measurable indicators by which to monitor progress
with implementation.
The monitoring and evaluation framework of the strategic plan allows for
alignment with relevant regional and international commitments, and it allows
for periodic surveys, reviews and regular surveillance. We have a broad sense
of the required financial resources. Serious discussions have been held with
government and business around this matter.
A detailed costing study is underway, and we shall return to these major
players with a more specific request and our development partners and major
foundations will be guided to a defined financial gap. I am confident that
financial resources will not be a deterrent in implementing our NSP. Capacities
to spend as well as the risk management mechanisms will need to be
enhanced.
This is a three-year social mobilisation programme, a critical element of
which is communicating the details of the plan to the general public, whilst
educating South Africans on specific HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment, care
and support programmes. It is now time for all of us to go to work, building on
what has been done and intensifying the implementations of interventions as
outlined in the plan, especially the prevention of new HIV infections. There is
work for each and every one of us.
I am aware that some government departments and civil society sectors are
busy with the operationalisation of the NSP for their environments. There are
specific targets that we set ourselves for the year 2007, and we must deliver
on these activities.
It is, therefore, my privilege ladies and gentlemen to declare this
conference open and to simultaneously launch the HIV and AIDS and STI Strategic
Plan for South Africa for the period 2007-11. All conference delegates are
offered a printed copy of the NSP, courtesy of Sanac. A distribution plan is
underway for the document to reach as many people as possible. It will be
posted on the government website, Government Communication and Information
System (GCIS) and Department of Health websites in the next few days.
I am very disturbed that the Minister of Health was allocated to speak only
in a panel. The ministry is our champion of health policy and the custodian of
its implementation. And you allocate a speaking slot to her deputy. This type
of politics is very unhelpful and does not contribute to the environment we are
building to fight the battle together. Fight those battles elsewhere if you
have to.
This convergence of scientists, academics, non-governmental organisations
(NGOs), donors and activists today, is an opportunity to share new knowledge
and insights in building consensus for prevention, treatment and care. I wish
you the best for the next four days at the conference.
I thank you.
Issued by: The Presidency
5 June 2007
