Opening remarks by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa at the SA National Aids Council Lekgotla Emperor's Palace, Ekurhuleni
In a few days time, South Africa will be holding its seventh AIDS Conference in Durban. It will be an opportunity to reflect, refocus and renew.
We can be sure that throughout thesentations, workshops and panel discussions - reference will frequently be made to SA National Aids Council (SANAC).
That is because SANAC has emerged as the preeminent body for the development, coordination and mobilisation of our national response to HIV and AIDS.
In grappling with the challenges we face now, it is easy to forget how much has been achieved through SANAC.
We too easily forget the role that SANAC has played, working with its many partners, in uniting South Africans around a more coherent, far-reaching and effective response.
Although we face several challenges - both in our response to the epidemic and in the functioning of this body - we can be proud of what has been achieved.
At the same time, the critical role that SANAC has played - and continues to play - in the fights against AIDS, places on all of us a great responsibility.
We are called upon as a collective to provide direction to the national AIDS response and ensure its full implementation.
We are called upon to ensure that our structures are efficient, effective and inclusive.
We need to ensure that society is mobilised beyond this effort and that the resources of the state, donors, development agencies and NGOs are optimally deployed. This Lekgotla is intended to enable us to meet those weighty expectations.
This Lekgotla provides an opportunity to reflect on the mandate of SANAC, how it is functioning, what its weaknesses are, what needs to be done to improve its functionality and table proposals to address key issues of concern that have been raised by some of the stakeholders.
There is general consensus on who constitutes SANAC. It is a multi-sectoral body consisting of government, civil society, the private sector and labour. SANAC is made up of all the structures from the national to the local level.
However, the issue of the mandate of SANAC still needs to be refined.
How, in practice, does it advise government?
To what extent does it get involved in implementation?
The implementation of the Governance and Accountability Framework requires better coordination and collaboration across all three spheres of government and civil society, labour and the private sector.
Although the new Governance and Accountability Framework seeks to address weaknesses within SANAC and to improve efficiency, some challenges still remain, including the clarification of roles and responsibilities across the various structures.
We need to look at how we improve coordination across the various government departments and across the three spheres of government.
Similarly, we need to look at how to improve coordination of civil society sectors and to ensure that civil society formations are adequately equipped and resourced.
There is need to define and clarify the role of the private sector in the response and to make a case for better coordination in this sector to enable it to play a more visible and meaningful role.
Some of the work we need to do at this Lekgotla is introspective. However, we must also give consideration to some of the broader questions around our national response.
Together with all our partners, SANAC need to discuss how to ensure that we can sustain the funding of an expanding HIV and TB response.
The decline in support from development partners will affect many programmes, particularly those implemented by NGOs and CBOs in communities.
A strong investment case needs to be made to ensure that the country continues to implement key programmes aimed at meeting the 90/90/90 targets.
The costs of supporting and strengthening civil society by the SANAC Secretariat need to be considered and adequate resources should be mobilised for this purpose.
Although human rights and access to justice is a critical pillar of the NSP, progress in implementation is slow.
In certain instances the rights of people living with HIV continue to be violated. We need to consider how we will address this.
More attention needs to be paid to the development and implementation of a comprehensive communication strategy and campaign around prevention.
Prioritisation of the prevention, awareness and communication aspects of the response are critical elements in turning the tide against HIV by targeting those who are most at risk of contracting the disease.
There is a clear decline in levels of knowledge on HIV, and therefore a greater need for a robust multi-sectoral behaviour change communication strategy driven by SANAC.
Challenges continue to persist in monitoring the implementation of the National Strategic Plan.
The SANAC Secretariat and the government sector have both developed monitoring frameworks but there are still challenges with the flow of information for reporting purposes.
These are just some of the issues that we want this Lekgotla to discuss and on which we want this Lekgotla to resolve.
Many of the discussions have already taken place yesterday in commissions. Our task today is to consider the proposals arising from the commissions, to elaborate where necessary, and to consolidate the resolutions.
This Lekgotla must not only determine how we function going forward. It must also ensure that all our social partners, and all South Africans, continue to look to SANAC for guidance, inspiration and hope.
I thank you.
