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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