central ART site for the Department of Correctional Services in the Free State
and Northern Cape region, Grootvlei Prison, Bloemfontein
17 February 2006
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Programme Director
Mr Modise, Commissioner Department of Correctional Services Free State and
Northern Cape
Ms Sishuba, Chief Deputy Commissioner, Development and Care, Department of
Correctional Services
Honoured guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
I am honoured to be part of this auspicious occasion, this the first
accredited Department of Correctional Services anti-retroviral treatment (ART)
and assessment site in the country. First and foremost a true achievement to
all partners in this partnership.
Programme Director, good progress is made in the Free State with the
implementation of the anti-retroviral (ARV) part of the Comprehensive Plan for
Management, Care and Treatment of HIV and AIDS, which National Cabinet approved
in November 2003.
Allow me to share with you the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan in
the Free State:
* An ARV treatment site is defined as a hospital that has three referring
clinics. The referring clinics are called ARV assessment sites. The Department
of Health plans to open an additional ARV site in each district to make ARV
treatment more accessible to rural people.
* It is anticipated that approximately nine new ARV sites will be functional by
end February 2006.
* The Free State Department of Health plans to establish ARV treatment and
assessment sites in each of the 20 local areas over the next five years.
* It is estimated and projected that a sizeable number of people in the Free
State are HIV positive. I wish to take this opportunity to call upon all our
people to visit our clinics and test, to know your status that will help us to
have accurate statistics. Not everybody who is HIV positive needs ARV
treatment. Our community should understand that one could live a full
productive life for many years without ARV, depending on your life style. The
decision on whether or not to go on to ARV treatment will be based on clinical
evidence, including the patient's CD4 counts.
* ARV treatment will be provided to patients who are in stage 4 of World Health
Organisation (WHO) classification and who have CD4 counts of less than
200.
* About 4495 people in the Free State were on ARV treatment at the end of
January 2006, of which 508 are children. Some 316 adults are treated by our
partners, the Catholic Relief Services in Botshabelo and Bethulie and Medicross
Bloemfontein.
* It is very important that the patients should proceed through the whole drug
readiness program before starting their lifelong treatment.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am satisfied with the progress made so far, although
we need to improve access to more people at the existing sites. We are,
however, faced with human resource constraints especially in the rural areas of
our province and bottlenecks are currently experienced at the drug readiness
training and treatment stages of the programme. Funding and medicine are
available at this stage.
The importance of partnerships cannot be overemphasised. This was also
recognised by our policy guidelines for the Comprehensive HIV and AIDS Care,
Management and Treatment Plan as approved. In fact, our whole approach to the
HIV and AIDS pandemic rests firmly on the establishment and maintenance of
successful partnerships whether it be with the community, faith-based
organisations, business and private sector or within the various spheres of
government itself.
The site we are opening here today is a testimony to the commitment and
dedication of a team of civil servants to improve the lives of those they
serve. The Grootvlei Prison site received its accreditation as an ART site in
October 2005 and I believe will commence fully with the treatment of inmates
from 1 March 2006. As Member of the Executive Council for Health, I undertake
to support the Department of Correctional Services in this very important noble
project. The Free State Department of Health will ensure that the standards
that are established for quality and accreditation are replicated in this
facility. We will co-ordinate issues of pharma-covigilance, monitoring,
evaluation and research. Healthcare workers will also provide training to
correctional services staff working at the site. We will also support the
operation of the site with the supply of necessary antiretroviral drugs,
provide specialised clinical support to the clinicians, pharmacists,
professional nurses, social workers, dieticians and psychologists through our
Centre of Excellence situated at the Pelonomi Regional Hospital.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I firmly believe that the success of our campaign
against the virus only lies in the partnerships we form. Government's
commitment to the fight against HIV and AIDS cannot be doubted and you are
witnesses to that. Government's commitment in the Free State is underscored by
the following 10 programmes:
1) Building partnerships;
2) Home-based care and step down facilities;
3) Voluntary Confidential Counselling and Testing (VCCT);
4) Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT);
5) Management of Sexually Transmitted Infections;
6) Education and awareness campaigns;
7) Funding for non-governmental organisations or NGOs;
8) Distribution of condoms;
9) The Comprehensive Care and Treatment Programme for HIV and AIDS
patients;
10) The TB Prevention and Treatment Programme.
In conclusion, may I remind you that wars are not won in one day. Political
commitment shown by this province is clearly set out in our programme, I wish
to remind you that we as government have always believed in cultivating a
society that cares and have often reiterated our unwavering stance against
poverty and all its symptoms. It is through events like these that we see the
battles being won. However, there is no time for complacency and
non-commitment.
Let us all make a personal commitment to fight each battle, strategise to
the best of our abilities to ensure a prosperous and HIV and AIDS free future
for our country. I am confident that the Department of Correctional Services
will fight the battle against HIV and AIDS and in the battlefield commit
themselves to an approach that unifies us all against the pandemic.
I thank you.
Enquiries:
Elke de Witt
Tel: (051) 408 1273
Fax: (051) 408 1579
Cell: 083 561 6517
E-mail: dewitte@fshealth.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Health, Free State Provincial Government
17 February 2006
