Programme director
Delegates
It is with great pleasure and honour that I deliver this opening address to the fifth South African HIV and AIDS conference.
I would have preferred to be there with you during this critical time of national reflection that reviews our response to the HIV epidemic and to share best-practice, not least to identify gaps and addressing those new challenges that we are faced with.
My absence today can be explained by my attendance of the United Nations High-Level meeting in New York, given our commitment as a Member State and signatory to various international declarations on HIV and AIDS.
South Africa, as you know, will honour its obligation to contribute to international discourse on HIV and AIDS, and the convergence of the United Nations Meeting at the same time as the Durban AIDS conference provides us with a unique opportunity to critically and rigorously review our current interventions in responding to the complex challenges posed by the HIV epidemic.
The high-level meeting will also assess what strides have been made in this regard, and affording member states the opportunity to share common experiences and subsequently to chart a way forward to further mainstream the HIV and AIDS agenda.
For its part, the Durban conference takes place at a critical juncture as we take stock of the HIV epidemic that was discovered almost 30 years ago.
It has also been 10 years since the United Nations endorsed the Declaration of Commitment on HIV and AIDS entitled "Global Crisis - Global Action”, during which global goals must be consolidated and all efforts to achieve universal access are to be strengthened.
Most importantly, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) give us that common vision to implement those dedicated actions that will ensure that we meet those and other goals of improving our response mechanisms.
We are all aware that there is, and rightly so, significant pressure on countries to scale up efforts to address the challenges posed by the epidemics such as HIV and TB, Malaria and many other emerging and re-emerging communicable diseases.
Global concerns regarding dwindling resources for the response with other "competing priorities” should not deter us from finding common ground in what needs to happen to pursue our national goals on this matter - thus, we need to maintain pressure and to make the case for continued investments in the HIV response.
Fundamentally, we must endeavour to change the perception of viewing HIV as an emergency that needs to be controlled and managed but rather to position the HIV response as an investment opportunity - which in my view, is ultimately an investment in the quality of life of our communities.
This is crucial given the nature of the social determinants of the HIV epidemic which are rooted in the social, economic, cultural and political tapestry of each country.
Given the divergence of issues, this conference should seek answers to an array of complex questions and interrogate every strategic objective, as well as assess all proposed targets to ensure that these are relevant to our developmental agenda.
For its part government has expanded its menu of options regarding the prevention, treatment, care and support programme.
Currently our Anti-Retroviral Treatmentexpansion programme has resulted in an increase of facilities to about 1 668, thus giving more people access to treatment. We are making continuous efforts to strengthen our prevention strategies and our programme of medical male circumcision is increasingly bearing fruit in terms of the numbers of uptake of the programme.
To date, more than 50 000 men have undergone medical male circumcision nationally and we encourage more people to use this service as part of a comprehensive package of prevention. It is also good to note that there is an increase in the numbers of both male and female condoms being distributed nationally.
These efforts are driven by the same determination that underpinned our drive in 2010 when we said "I am responsible. We are responsible. South Africa is taking responsibility”.
Collective ownership of the strategic interventions adopted must therefore speak to our ability to attain the highest impact and address those most-at-risk.
Issues of resource allocation and mobilisation, leadership, accountability and improved service delivery by way of enhanced implementation of healthcare services are some of the key deliverables that we need to address.
I am confident that the outcome of this South African AIDS conference will enrich the development of our new National Strategic Plan on HIV and AIDS as well as TB, and perhaps more crucially, bring us closer to achieve our national objectives.
I thank you.
Source: The Presidency
