M Tshabalala-Msimang: Opening of Global Fund Partnership Forum

1 July 2006

Programme Director
His Majesty, Isilo sa Mabandla and Indlovukazi
Honourable Ministers
The Mayor of Ethekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, Obed Mlaba
The Provincial Members of Executive Council
The Executive Director of the Global Fun
The Global Fund Board Members
Members of the United Nations Agencies
Distinguished delegates and invited guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Good evening

Allow me first to express my Government’s appreciation to the Board of the
Global Fund for its decision to convene the second Partnership Forum in South
Africa. Let me also thank in particular the Secretariat of the Global Fund for
the invitation and courtesies they have extended to all of us, including myself
and fellow South Africans and I hope that they find the environment for hosting
a meeting of this nature conducive.

It has been two years since the last Global Fund Partnership Forum was held
in Bangkok, Thailand. It gives me great pleasure to see so many people who
concern themselves about the prevention, care, treatment and eventual
eradication of HIV and AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, gathered here in Durban,
South Africa, to celebrate successes and overcome challenges of the Global Fund
during this second Partnership Forum.

This Partnership Forum is timely, as it takes place at the backdrop of the
gathering of the international community that took place four weeks ago in New
York to review progress achieved in realising the targets set out in the 2001
Declaration of Commitment on HIV and AIDS.

This meeting focused its attention on obstacles and solutions to scaling up
responses towards universal access to HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment, care
and support and culminated in the adoption of a political declaration.
Program Director, the energy and momentum built towards universal access to HIV
and AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support can and should be extended to
responses towards Tuberculosis and Malaria if we are to make a mark in ending
unnecessary suffering of the world’s poor.

Success in this area will determine to a large extent our success in the
achievement of internationally agreed development goals and objectives,
including the Millennium Development Goals, especially the goal to halt and
begin to reverse the spread of HIV and AIDS, malaria and other major diseases.
Currently, worldwide prevalence of malaria is estimated to be in the order of
300-500 million clinical cases each year, with more than 90% of all malaria
cases reported in sub-Saharan Africa.

The worldwide mortality due to malaria is estimated to be three to five
million deaths annually with the vast majority of deaths occurring among young
children in Africa. The World Health Organisation estimates that there are 8,9
million new cases of tuberculosis, of which 2,5 million are in Africa, 2,9
million in South-East Asia and 1,9 million in the Western Pacific. It further
estimates that global deaths due to tuberculosis stands at 1,6 million of which
587 000 are in Africa, 535 000 in South-East Asia and 307 000 in the Western
Pacific.
Therefore, as we engage in debates and advocacy and as we review progress and
provide advice to the Global Fund on its policies, strategy and functioning
during this Partnership Forum, I urge all of us to give a balanced attention to
these three diseases. As countries we need to give a balanced attention to the
burden of disease in general, both communicable and non-communicable diseases
including injury prevention and safety promotion.

At this point I wish to recall what President Mbeki said during the 13th
session of the International AIDS Conference. He said, and I quote: “As I sat
in this position, I listened attentively to the story that was told by the
World Health Organisation.

What I heard as that story was told, was that extreme poverty in the world
is the biggest killer and the greatest cause of ill-health and suffering across
the globe” He continued to say and I quote “As I listened and heard the whole
story told about our own country, it seemed to me that we could not blame
everything on a single virus”

Therefore I urge that we consider the role of the Global Fund in addressing
obstacles to scaling up of responses to these three diseases such as weak
health systems, the human resource crisis, and access to affordable
commodities, sustainable and predictable financing as well as stigma and
discrimination. Research and development in indigenous knowledge systems and
traditional medicines is another area that deserves attention, especially in
the context of the African Union’s declaration of the decade of traditional
medicine. One of the things we have done in this country is to set up a
Presidential Task Team to deliver in this important area.

It is also important to deliberate on effective and efficient management of
available resources. In my view, there are several ways, which would allow
expansion of the available resources through the efficient use of resources and
timeous interventions. For instance, interventions that delay the progression
from HIV infection to the onset of AIDS defining conditions can lead to savings
by limiting demand for more complex and expensive interventions. Promotion of
healthy lifestyles, proper nutrition, meeting nutritional demands posed by
these three diseases and micronutrients where necessary as well as rigorous
treatment of opportunistic infections are some of the interventions that can
save resources while maintaining optimal health. In all of this, the question
should always be “what should be the role of the Global Fund?”

Programme Director

In order to maximise impact of our responses in the three diseases, there is
a need to strengthen the participation and effective engagement of the private
sector. It is my view that there remains some potential to be tapped in this
sector and thus there is some merit in engaging in a discussion by this
Partnership Forum on leveraging the private sector. There is a challenge to
sustain the involvement of the private sector in the response against these
three diseases. I must say, however that I am encouraged by new innovative
efforts by this sector such as the Red Movement that was launched globally and
I am particularly pleased that Motorolla South Africa has recently launched a
local initiative of this Red Movement.

Programme Director

As we focus on these three diseases, we should not lose sight of the fact
that these are health and social problems, which must be seen in the light of
other health and social problems. Whilst the urgency to respond to these
diseases have necessitated a vertical approach in their response, it is
imperative that we shift towards a programmatic approach and begin to integrate
the management of these diseases in a holistic manner into the public health
services.

May I now take this opportunity to introduce to you our Deputy President,
Mrs Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who has been in government since 1994? She was
Deputy Minister for the Ministry of Trade and Industry and later became
Minister of Minerals and Energy. She has been Deputy President since 2005. As
Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry and Minister of Minerals and Energy she
was instrumental in implementing government policy particularly related to the
empowerment of women and she spearheaded the participation of women in
otherwise male-dominated sectors like mining and energy.

Since becoming Deputy President she has taken responsibility of leading
government in its attempt to fight poverty and create jobs through the
Accelerated and Shared Growth in South Africa (AsgiSA). She also chairs the
South African AIDS Council (SANAC), which is our national coordinating
mechanism bringing together government, civil society and the private sector in
responding to the three diseases.

Please join me in welcoming the Honourable Deputy President Phumzile
Mlambo-Ngcuka.

Issued by: Department of Health
1 July 2006