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Heal
th Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has reacted to United
Nations (UN) HIV/Aids envoy Stephen Lewis' reported criticism of
the country's HIV/Aids treatment programme by inviting him for a
visit to "realise how little he knows about the South African
Health System".
On Thursday Business Day quoted Lewis as telling delegates to the
15th International Aids Conference: "You can't imagine how the
impoverished countries in Africa are moving heaven and earth to
implement treatment. They don't have anywhere near the money or
infrastructure of South Africa, but they are determined to respond
to a pandemic that is decimating their population."
He is also quoted as calling the decision of the Medicines Control
Council to no longer recommend nevirapine on its own as a treatment
for HIV/Aids, as "kerfuffle" saying it was the latest in a series
of confusions.
In reaction, Tshabalala-Msimang said, "We note that Mr Lewis made
his misleading comments in the context of what seems to be a
concerted effort by some delegates at the conference to generate
confusion around the decision of the Medicines Control Council to
recommend a combination therapy rather than a monotherapy in the
prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV,"
Tshabalala-Msimang said in a statement.
"If instead, he engage(s) the South African Government, he would
gain a better understanding of our programmes, progress and
priorities. Mr Lewis is invited to visit our country and realise
how little he knows about the South African Health System," she
added.
She said the remarks that South Africa was dragging its feet on
HIV/Aids suggested that he was not well informed about either the
progress made in the country, or the views of the United Nations
and its agencies about the government's programme.
"Government's comprehensive response to HIV and Aids has expanded
rapidly, with expenditure increasing a hundred-fold from
R30-million in 1994 to over R3,6-billion in 2003/04 and it is set
to increase still more as the comprehensive care and treatment plan
is expanded."
She said the "scale and boldness" of the government's plan was
"widely recognised and admired and the UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan singled out South Africa for triple its resource allocation
to fight the disease.
The head of UNAids has recently acknowledged that South Africa
would soon have the largest treatment programme in the world and
"certainly in Africa".
Clear guidelines and protocols were needed because plans could not
be "trial and error" as that was a waste of money.
She said that "As Mr Lewis should know..." South Africa shared the
continent's commitment to working together in solving its problems
and was already working together on the disease.
This is the second time this year that Tshabalala-Msimang has had a
high profile run in over HIV/Aids.
The last was with Global Fund to fight Aids executive director
Richard Feachem over a reported threatened withdrawal over HIV/Aids
grants. – Sapa.
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