Programme director,
Honourable district executive mayor
Mayor of the local municipality
MMCs and member of our governance structures
Executive managers and all government officials present
Representatives of the private and business sector formations
Our esteemed traditional leaders and healers
Members of the Provincial Council on Aids
Members of our religious fraternity
Traditional health practitioners
The organisation for people living with HIV and AIDS
Representatives of the non-governmental organisations and community based organisations present
Our community health workers, care givers and volunteers
Bagaetsho, dumelang!
Motsamaisa tiro, e setse e le sebaka sa dingwaga di le 11 fa e sa le go thakgololwa kitlano le tirisano mmogo mo ntweng kgatlanong le AIDS (Partnership against AIDS) ka di 9 October 1998. E ne ya re ka lona letsatsi leo, Moporesidente wa naga ya rona ya Aforika Borwa a ikuela mo baaging botlhe ba naga ya rona go kopana, go kitlana, le go kokwaanya ditlhokego tsotlhe tseo di ka nnang teng mo ntweng kgatlanong le bolwetse jwa AIDS. Ke teng ka letsatsi leo moo e leng gore maphata otlhe a naga ya rona a neng a dira ditumalano le maitlamo a a lateng:
- Go dirisa tshono e nngwe le e nngwe go buisana ka phuthologo ka HIV le AIDS le go lwantsha stigma se se tsamaisang le bolwetse jo
- Go dira mmogo go tlhokomela bao ba tshelang ka mogare le go tlhokomela masiela le dikhutsana tseo di setseng ka ntlha ya AIDS
- Go kopanya didirisiwa le tlhaloganyo go neelana ka thuso le kemonokeng go bao ba tshelang ka mogare, bao ba ba tlhokometseng le go tswelela go batlana le kalafi le mekgwa ya go thibela kanamo ya mogare
- Le go tswelela go dira mmogo go lwantsha HIV le AIDS
In November 2003 the former President of South Africa Dr Nelson Mandela called on the world to fight HIV and AIDS with a stronger resolve than was used to defeat apartheid. Speaking from Robben Island, and surrounded by the artists who would perform at the 46664 HIV and AIDS awareness concert that was held on the 29th of November 2003 at Cape Town’s Green Point Stadium, Mandela told journalists that Africa and the world had fought a noble struggle against apartheid. He however said that, “there is now a greater enemy and threat in HIV and AIDS. It threatens our future”.
But what is more of relevance to today’s occasion is that President Mandela said these words against the backdrop of a noble gesture in the form of the 46664 HIV and AIDS awareness concert. This concert is not only a land mark of a joint or partnered fight against HIV and AIDS in South Africa, it has now caught the attention of the rest of Africa and the World. It is a noble gesture symbolic of a true partnership against AIDS that has brought us here today.
Bagaetsho, re kopana fano gompieno moragoyana fela ga go re Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi a rebole semmuso dipholo tsa “the 2008 National Antenatal Sentinel HIV Prevalence survey” ka di 5 October. Dipholo tse di bontsha sentle go re go sa ntse go le gontsi mo re tshwanelwang ke go go dira jaaka balekane le batsaya karolo mo ntweng kgatlanong le AIDS. Le fa e le go re go gontsi mo re go dirileng go phasalatsa molaetsa le go gwetlha maitsholo a siameng mo baaging ba porofense, re tshwanela ke go tiya moko le tsenya tirisong maano a puso mo ntweng e.
Jaanong re gatela pele ka maikaelelo a go tiisa maano le kitlano ya rona go lwantsha HIV le AIDS. A mowa wa rona wa tirisano mmogo o tswelele go gola magareng ga rona jaaka maphata a a farologaneng a puso, se poraefete le baagi. Ke nnete, re ntse re latlhegelwa ka bagarona, ebile re tla tswelela go latlhegelwa go fitlhelela re bona kalafi, mme g ara tshwanela go nyema moka le go itlhoboga.
Government intervention in the fight against HIV and AIDS
Government has drawn up a strategy to fight AIDS that seeks to unite all sectors in a common programme. It is important to understand this strategy and to see where our campaign can support and deepen the government plan. The national health department is the main driver of a strategic plan to co-ordinate the fight against AIDS by the whole country. Various government departments and sectors were consulted in the drawing up of this plan. These include traditional healers, business and religious organisations. The priority areas in this plan are: prevention; treatment, care and support, legal and human rights; monitoring, research and evaluation
South Africa is one of 17 African countries that have adopted a declaration in Abidjan in 1997 to develop a response by municipal leaders to HIV and AIDS. The declaration recognises that municipalities and councillors are closest to the people and are responsible for addressing local problems. It states that local government, mayors and councillors have a vital role to play to:
- Provide strong political leadership on the issue
- Create an openness to address issues such as stigma and discrimination
- Coordinate and bring together community centred multi-sectoral actions
- Create effective partnerships between government and civil society
- South African Local Government Association (SALGA) will provide support to implement Alliance of Mayors’ Initiative for Community Action on AIDS at the Local Level (AMICAALL) resolutions in South Africa.
South Africa has also established a national AIDS Council and each province has a provincial AIDS Council to help provide support and co-ordination of AIDS initiatives. In many provinces district AIDS councils are now being set up.
E rile maloba ka puo ya matlotlo ya porofense, Motlotlegi Mo-Premier wa rona Mme Maureen Modiselle a tlhalofa fa puso ya porofense ya rona e tshotse tshwetso ya go matlafatsa provincial AIDS Council. Jaaka maiteko a mangwe a go dira jalo, Premier o tlhalositse go re provincial Council on AIDS jaanong e tla tlhokomelwa ke kantoro ya gagwe ka namana. Ke solofela fa AIDS Council e tla dira sentle ka fa tlase ga kantoro ya Premier.
The very important role of co-ordinating activities around the HIV and AIDS campaign by the provincial Council on AIDS needs particular emphasis; we expect the provincial AIDS Council to link with government departments like Health and Social Development, as well as with district and local AIDS councils and to work closely with welfare, faith based and community based organisations. We expect the provincial Council on AIDS to help to mobilise resources that can be used in the fight against AIDS and to play an important role in making sure that government and donor funding gets to the places where they are most needed.
Tiragatso ya Leano le le Kitlaneng la Puso la Tlhokomelo, Tsamaiso le Kalafi ya HIV le AIDS (comprehensive plan on care, management and treatment of HIV and AIDS) e tsweletse sentle. Le fa go le jalo re tshwanelwa ke go dumalang go re re santse re tshwanelwa ke go dira go le gontsi go tlisa dipalopalo tsa tshwaetso kwa tlase. Ka jalo go botlhokwa go re re tlhaloganya Leano le ka mokgwa wa go akaretsa batho botlhe le maphata otlhe mo ntweng kgatlanong le morage wa HIV.
It is therefore important that whilst the provision of antiretroviral treatment is more on the spotlight, I must caution that we must not be side tracked and loose focus of more important things that we need in this fight, things like the multi-sectoral approach to this battle.
Nonetheless we are pleased as the Department of Health and Social Development of the progress we made so far. We managed to respond to the target set by national government to have in the entire districts, at least one service point. About 74462 people in the North West now receive free anti retroviral drugs. We continue to increase access to prevention, treatment and a lot still needs to be done to meet the 2011 national strategy aimed at reducing infection by 50 percent. The department also has twenty eight community based organisations accredited as part of down referral programme. These accredited sites refer stable patients to community based organisations where quality comprehensive HIV and AIDS care, management and treatment (CCMT) can be continued thereby ensuring monitoring of drug adherence and tracing of patients who default treatment.
This strategy is consistent with the World Health Organization’s recommendation that health care systems urgently shift from acute, hospital based care to community based and patient cantered chronic care. The province has also managed to recruit staff to fill most of the posts created by the implementation of the antiretroviral treatment programme.
We are however content that it is the partnership that will make us succeed even more. We are humbled by the commitment across all sectors of the province in the struggle against AIDS. As we recommit ourselves today, in this noble initiative of the Partnership against AIDS anniversary, we will continue to utilise the partnership we have with all sectors to raise awareness on the challenges of HIV and AIDS. We further continue to work and learn from those who have long been running with the antiretroviral treatment programme.
Ke motlotlo thata ebile re tshwanela go leboga le go tswelela go rotloetsa tiro eo e diriwang ke badiri ba rona ba selegae ba ba thusang balwetse mo malaong a bona kwa magaeng. Boineelo jo lo ba bontshang go bona selekanyetsi bagaetsho! Tshwarang ka thata.
I call upon all other sectors of our society particularly the business formation to get more involved because this is one fight in which we need all available resources to defeat this enemy, HIV and AIDS.
Conclusion
In conclusion ladies and gentlemen, I would like to remind all of us here today that this day of Partnership against AIDS anniversary is a day for us to recommit ourselves to working together, to learning from one another and advising each other of what we need to do to win this battle.
I believe we all have one enemy, so even if we may differ on the approach and methodologies along the way, let that not deter us from our common pursuit. So, today, as I call upon all of you to make a pledge to fight HIV and AIDS, let us be true to our words. The partnership we seek to develop is the one grounded on mutual trust and accountability to what we do to fight AIDS.
I thank you. Ke a leboga bagaetsho!
