the Mpumalanga AIDS Council
30 November 2007
Programme Director
MEC SW Lubisi and Honourable Members of the Executive Council
MPs and MPLs
Executive mayors and councillors
Traditional leaders and our spiritual leaders
Members of the Mpumalanga AIDS Council
Health workers and care-givers
Government's Social Partners
Senior Managers and our Provincial Administration
Ladies and gentlemen
On the eve of World AIDS Day, the launch of the Mpumalanga AIDS Council is a
significant milestone in giving concrete expression to our collective resolve
and commitment to fighting the devastating scourge of the HIV and AIDS pandemic
in the province.
Programme Director, this launch is significant in creating and sustaining
partnerships that enable an effective multi-sectoral response to HIV and AIDS.
The meaningful participation of all sectors of society in the mobilisation and
co-ordination of programmatic interventions will help to provide leadership,
monitoring and evaluation of the province's work on HIV and AIDS.
I would like to convey my appreciation and gratitude to all the members of
the Council, representing different sectors, for their willingness to partner
with government and participate in the ongoing fight against the debilitating
impact of HIV and AIDS in our communities. I know that most of you are, in many
ways, part of HIV and AIDS interventions in the different sectors that you
represent.
As a country, our National Strategic Plan on HIV and AIDS and Sexually
Transmitted Diseases, 2007 to 2011, has set bold targets to stem the tide of
the HIV and AIDS pandemic. Among others, we need to ensure that we reduce the
number of new infections by 50%, and work hard to reduce the impact of HIV and
AIDS on individuals, families and communities by expanding access to
appropriate treatment, care and support to at least 80% of all people diagnosed
with HIV and AIDS.
If we are to achieve these goals, the provincial AIDS council that we are
launching today has an immense responsibility to provide leadership and oversee
implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all aspects of the National
Strategic Plan. We need to ensure that we strengthen inter-sectoral
collaboration and coordination so that we maximise impact in the fight against
the HIV and AIDS pandemic.
Central to our success in meeting the national objectives is the need to
bolster institutional capacity for the accelerated implementation of the HIV
and AIDS programme. We need to enhance on-going efforts in the roll-out of
prevention programmes and the implementation of the treatment, care and support
regime for people infected and affected by HIV and AIDS. We need to expand
access to voluntary counselling and testing services and broaden coverage by
ensuring that the number of accredited sites is increased.
As a province we are making headway in the implementation of the National
Strategic Plan on HIV and AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases. There is room
for improvement in many aspects of our work. We are confident that the
leadership and advisory role of the council will provide the necessary momentum
and add value to the implementation of the HIV and AIDS programme in the
province.
To date we have 333 facilities that are providing Voluntary Counselling and
Testing (VCT) services, and we have deployed 628 lay counsellors. We have also
been paying attention to the expansion of the Prevention of Mother-to-Child
Transmission (PMTCT) services by ensuring that all healthcare facilities that
are providing antenatal services also offer PMTCT services. We have increased
PMTCT sites from 295 to 344.
We have been working on expanding access to Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART)
to those who need it. To date 22 666 people are on ART. In many respects, we
have agreed that much still needs to be done in improving access to health
services.
Collectively, we need to heighten HIV and AIDS awareness and continue to
mobilise broad-based community participation in fighting the impact of the
disease. The role of community-based organisations must be harnessed to
contribute to institutional capacity requirements for the implementation of HIV
and AIDS programmes.
Members of the provincial AIDS council will agree that the task ahead is
daunting but not insurmountable. It provides us with the opportunity to pool
our resources and efforts as government and civil society so that we 'Stop HIV
and AIDS.' This is a call to nation action.
Above all, this must be accompanied by a province-wide call for all
communities to embark on a spirited campaign by all of us to conquer the HIV
and AIDS pandemic, and save valuable lives. To succeed, we must manage all the
HIV and AIDS programmes efficiently and turn them into centres of excellence in
our administration. We must promote innovation and creativity in our many
community-based prevention and care programmes and projects to give meaning to
our motto of being a province with a pioneering spirit.
Last but not least, we must decisively turn around the sex culture in our
communities, especially among young people.
In this regard, a matter which must receive our urgent attention, as I have
said before, is the student youth. The behaviour of students in many of our
schools is, needless to say, suicidal. This is indeed a national tragedy. How
else can we explain widespread utter ignorance among a segment of our
youth-community which is supposed to be the most enlightened? All of us,
parents, teachers and government must stand up in the commitment to half new
infections by the year 2011.
Once again, I wish all the members of the new council well in their mission
and in the execution of their responsibilities.
Thank you.
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Mpumalanga Provincial Government
30 November 2007
