celebration of the Provincial Partnership Event, Phillipolis, Xhariep
District
9 October 2007
Programme director
Honoured guest
Ladies and gentlemen:
I would like to express my appreciation for being part of partnership event
to address you today on a matter which lies close to my heart. Providing a
caring and compassionate service to vulnerable groups of our community is an
issue with which we all grapple with everyday. It is the 9th year in which we
commemorate the partnership against HIV and AIDS after it was launched by then
Deputy President Thabo Mbeki on the in 1998.
Ladies and gentlemen, during this launch, there was a call for all South
Africans, government, business, civil society to join hands to fight HIV and
AIDS as a collective. The theme for this year is "Stop HIV and AIDS Keep the
Promise".
The aim of this commemoration is to strengthen and reinforce the importance
of the partnership in the fight against HIV and AIDS. One of the guiding
principles of the National Strategic Plan for 2007/11 is effective
partnerships, including meaningful involvement of people living with HIV and
AIDS.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Department of Health in the Free State, in
acknowledging partnerships in the delivery of health care services, has
partnerships programmes in areas such as:
* home based care
* non-governmental organisation support programmes
* initiate Voluntary, Confidential, Counselling and Training (VCCT) non-medical
sites in partnership with the private sector, business, academic institutions
and non-governmental organisations.
* programmes for high transmission areas and
* anti-retroviral treatment non-medical sites
The department is also in partnership in the fight against AIDS with the
following civil society sectors:
* faith-based organisations
* Women in Partnership against AIDS (WIPPA)
* Men in Partnership against AIDS (MIPAA)
* traditional healers sector
* traditional leaders sector and the
* business sector.
I am please to announce that the European Union Partnerships for Delivery of
Primary Health Care including HIV and AIDS resumed the programme on the 1st of
July 2007. The overall objective of the programme is to provide accessible,
affordable and effective Primary Health Care Services including HIV and
AIDS.
Our purpose is to establish partnerships between Government and Non-Profit
Organisations such as non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community-based
organisations (CBO) amongst others to assist with the delivery of primary
health care including HIV and AIDS. The first activity of the programme will be
to profile the NGOs working with the Department of Health to develop a database
which will assist us to access potential of partners in our Primary Health Care
Service Delivery.
In conclusion ladies and gentlemen, the prevalence of HIV and AIDS is 31,1
percent according to the 2006 antenatal survey. This survey is done annually
among pregnant mothers visiting primary health care clinics across the country.
The Free State is the third highest out of the nine provinces with the
prevalence of HIV and AIDS.
Ladies and gentlemen, this should give us a strong indication that we need
to strengthen our resolve and therefore I would like to make a call to all our
partners to strengthen the partnership programmes in the fight against HIV and
AIDS in the province.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Health, Free State Provincial Government
9 October 2007
