T Mseleku on behalf of M Tshabalala-Msimang: Southern African
Development Community (SADC) AIDS Network of Nurses and Midwives
Conference

4 October 2007

Programme Director
Representatives of the all National Nursing Associations
Esteemed guests
Ladies and gentlemen

Good Evening,

I am indeed privileged this evening to be addressing the audience of your
calibre. Occasions like these are a delight to be part of, not only because
they bring us together but because they create an opportunity for all us to
refocus on our common goal - which is the improvement of the health of our
people through provision of quality health care services and improvement of the
working conditions of care providers so that they may be able to better serve
our nations.

The South African Development Community (SADC) AIDS Network of Nurses and
Midwives provides a much-needed interaction between health providers on how
they could assist their governments to win the fight against HIV and AIDS. Much
of what we have achieved as a country in our efforts to prevent, manage and
treat HIV and AIDS is because of the sacrifices of thousands of health and care
workers who continue to make a difference in their communities, and in our
clinics and hospitals. We also depend on them to effectively implement the HIV
and AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) Strategic Plan for South
Africa 2007 to 2011. They form the backbone of our health care service
delivery, serving mostly in the frontline.

I understand that the theme of this three-day conference is 'Nursing Leaders
for Action: Policy Development, Stewardship, Governance and Partnerships' and I
am confident that through the discussions which started on 2 October 2007, you
found relevant solutions to the challenges facing our health care systems –
which should include recommendations on how we can all improve the delivery of
health care services and strengthen our support of the development programmes
such as the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad), which seeks to
address poverty and under-development on the continent.

I was happy to learn that the network of nurses and midwives of the SADC
region, which was formed in 2002, has continued to play a vital role for its 14
member associations. The associations in their own countries had been
tirelessly working on improving the working conditions for nurses. The network
has made tremendous strides towards strengthening the associations through
capacity building, networking and sharing of best practices. It is my hope that
the conference has further equipped the associations with information on how
they could assist to fight HIV and AIDS, as well as with skills that will
enable them to influence health policies in their respective countries.

Given that nurses and midwives form 70% of the global health care workforce,
they present an essential force to ensure success of any health care policy.
Nurses and midwives should therefore have a big leverage with governments and
put forward a nursing perspective to influence policies on health systems. By
virtue of their numbers and the uniqueness of their profession, the nurses and
midwives have an important role to play and I believe that the potential
contribution of this profession is still to be fully realized in our continent
and in fact, globally.

Nurses, midwives and supportive health care providers need to keep abreast
of the developments in the management of various health and medical conditions.
We have to read and understand the policies and management guidelines and
protocols to respond appropriately to the health challenges facing us. There is
also a need to provide continuous support to each other as African countries
towards the improvement of our health care systems.

The challenge of improving health outcomes is felt by developed and
developing countries alike. As governments across the globe start to appreciate
the role that nurses and midwives play in improving the health of our people,
good leadership has been repeatedly identified as a fundamental requirement for
addressing the challenges facing nursing and midwifery. It is therefore
essential to have capable nurse leaders, who are confident about the value of
their contribution in the provision of accessible and equitable care. We need
nurse leaders who are proactive and able to manage change as it occurs because
of the range of complex factors that influence health and well-being. The
combined knowledge and skills of health providers could become a powerful
mechanism towards the improvement of care.

It is therefore important that nursing associations be involved in policy
formulation and programme planning to ensure equitable and accessible health
services. Nurses could define the direction of the health policy, exert
positive influence through advocacy and assist to improve the health systems of
both public and private sectors.

Southern Africa is one of the regions that are hardest hit by the HIV and
AIDS. Programme Director, I am happy to inform you that even though HIV remains
an important public health challenge in South Africa, we are currently
experiencing pleasing signs of changes. After about three years of
stabilisation, the annual survey of prevalence of HIV amongst pregnant women
attending public sector antenatal clinic has for the first time indicated that
there is decrease in the prevalence of HIV in the country. The 2006 antenatal
survey results show a decrease in the prevalence of HIV amongst pregnant women
from 30,2% in 2005 to 29,1% in 2006. This was attributed to a number of
intervention activities, and in particular good quality of STI management and
treatment in public health facilities.

These gains that we are making need to be consolidated by scaling up the
implementation of all the components of the National Strategic Plan for HIV and
AIDS and STI for 2007 to 2011. We need the involvement of all stakeholders –
including nurses and midwives – to further strengthen HIV and AIDS programmes
and to ensure that the prevalence of HIV remains on the downward trend. As a
region we need a workforce that could assist us as governments to turn around
the tide of HIV. The nursing associations should be able to provide support to
the nurses and midwives to maximise their role in the fight against HIV and
AIDS. Working as a collective and forming effective partnerships with other
sectors, is advisable. I hope you were able identify potential collaborative
relationships that could further strengthen your contribution towards the
improvement of health care service delivery in the region.

I wish you success in the implementation of the outcomes of the discussions
and have a safe journey back home.

Enjoy the rest of the evening.

I thank you all

Issued by: Department of Health
4 October 2007