P Mlambo-Ngcuka: Hospice Palliative Care Association (HPCA)
Conference

15 August 2007

Salutations
Programme Director,
Dr Liz Gwyther, Chairperson of the HPCA,
Members of the HPCA,
Representatives of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and community based
organisations (CBOs),
Doctors, nurses, volunteers, caregivers, traditional healers,
People living with cancer and HIV and AIDS,
Ladies and gentlemen

Acknowledgment of good work

I am pleased to be addressing you at this Hospice Palliative Care
Association (HPCA) Conference. As you all know August is celebrated as women's
month in our country. If you would allow me to, I would like to pay tribute to
all the South African women, who make us the winning nation we are. The HPCA's
conference today, brings together all national stakeholders involved in
providing palliative care to patients suffering from terminal illnesses such as
cancer and HIV and AIDS.

I understand that the HPCA was formed in 1987 with the aim of pooling and
optimising the resources and expertise of its member hospices from around our
country. In South African communities today, the word hospice has become a
household name. As many people have come to appreciate and value the services
rendered by hospices at times when they need it most.

The dedication and commitment of all staff in hospices and caring services
has led to these ordinary people also learning about the importance of
care-giving. To all the caregivers in Hospices, at home, in the society, in
government and families we all owe you 'umbulelo ongazenzisiyo.' Indeed, as
government we are encouraged by the exceptional work the HPCA continues to do,
and we congratulate all of you for helping to build a caring nation and ask you
to help us spread this value, which in some instances eludes us.

I understand that in 2005, the HPCA cared for an estimated 49 000 patients:
of those 15 000 were cancer patients and 34 000 were HIV positive patients.
Increasingly, that the Hospice Palliative Care Association has been responding
to the many needs of HIV positive people and their families. The HPCA estimates
a much greater current need, I have also learnt.

Education and training

For this reason, Programme Director, we applaud the HPCA's efforts at
further education and training on palliative care for doctors, nurses,
community caregivers, and volunteers. This training is done in conjunction with
the Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority (HWSETA). Many
of our young people with their hearts in the right place need to see this as an
opportunity to provide a service and to get a career.

South African National AIDS Council (SANAC)

As government we are pleased that the Hospice Palliative Care Association
plays an active role in the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC). As
many of you know the restructured and reinvigorated Council was established
earlier this year. More importantly the South African National AIDS Council
adopted a new National Strategic Plan for the period 2007 to 2011. After
extensive consultation with all sectors, a broad consensus was reached and the
new comprehensive National Strategic Plan was adopted. We now need to
accelerate the implementation of this plan, which has a holistic and
multi-pronged approach to HIV and AIDS.

National Strategic Plan (NSP)

The National Strategic Plan for the period 2007-2011 focuses on the
following key areas namely: prevention, treatment, care and support, human
rights and access to justice, and research and monitoring and surveillance. The
National Strategic Plan also explains the need to simultaneously address a
number of important issues, which impacts on HIV and AIDS. These issues
are:
* gender violence
* economic well-being
* education of girls and boys
* improving access to maternal health
* fast-tracking and easy access to antiretrovirals (ARVs) for pregnant
women
* provision of treatment and support
* prevention of mother to child transmission with added focus on caring for
mothers
* food security for mothers who are HIV positive
* stigma and other cultural practices that discriminate or punish HIV positive
women and their children
* acceleration of programmes for orphans and vulnerable children
* support of programmes championed by HIV positive women

We are currently asking the SANAC members and sectors to develop sector
plans through which they can assist to implement the National Strategic Plan
2007-11. I hope you will also look into this aspect, which can be discussed
with the SANAC secretariat. SANAC is only as strong and relevant as the sectors
that are participating. We are also encouraging sectors to link up with the
government departments that are relevant to them.

We have also undertaken to work closely with People living with HIV and AIDS
and to encourage a co-operative approach between them, and Joint Initiatives;
and strengthened representation in SANAC. I am sure I do not have to tell you
about the importance of encouraging people who are infected with the HI Virus
to stay and live positively and those ones living positively can assist with
peer education.

Opportunistic infections and ARVs

The HPCA has played an important role in supporting the aggressive
management of HIV and AIDS and opportunistic infections. The HPCA has
accommodated patients with low CD4 counts to receive their initial ARV
treatment at the hospice in-patients units. This assists in supervising and
managing the Immune Reconstitution reaction. Together with home-based
caregivers, you help to ensure that patients follow their ARV treatment as
prescribed. We thank you for that. We need your guidance as government on how
we can ensure that access to poverty relief does not have unintended results of
making people choose to get sick in order to get food aid and other support
where that happens. This is a clear indication that our people are very poor
and we need to do more to fight poverty overall.

Every child is my child

Programme Director, we need to continue to also provide for children made
orphans and vulnerable. Through the Department of Social Development we are
creating safety nets for children most at risk. Amongst other things,
government is looking at issues of grants to child-headed household and grants
for poor families who take care of orphans and children at risk. In theory
government is able and definitely willing to reach all the children who are in
need. I know we have many mishaps and we need you to help us do much better and
close the gaps.

In addition, government has initiated a mentoring programme called 'Every
child is my child,' where adults and young people mentor, younger people and
children.
The Umsobomvu Fund and the National Youth Commission, have such a programme
called the Big Brother and Big Sister Programme. We have identified a big
shortage of adult males as role models to young boys. As government we are
asking more people to become involved in these initiatives.

We are encouraging corporations to initiate their own mentoring programmes
with their employees. As a nation we need to take care of our children and
younger people, particularly those more at risk and more vulnerable. We are
particularly seeking good male role models and mentors of boy children. The boy
children do ask for male mentors, who are few and far in between. So whether it
is providing facilities of delivering government services, SANAC, caring for
children or training we need you as essential partners whose contributions we
value!

Conclusion

Programme Director, as South Africans, we are humbled and inspired by the
work done by the Hospice Palliative Care Association. We salute the work of all
your member hospices around our country. We are committed to an ongoing
partnership with the HPCA, SANAC and all other organisations, in fighting
diseases such as cancer and HIV and AIDS and other chronic diseases, who
provide such an important service where often and as a rule you have to go
beyond the call of duty.

God Bless!

Issued by: The Presidency
15 August 2007
Source: The Presidency (http://www.thepresidency.gov.za)