Speech delivered by the Deputy President P Mlambo-Ngcuka at the opening of the third South African AIDS conference, Durban

Chairperson, Dr Olive Shisana
His Majesty, King Zwelithini
Honourable Cabinet Ministers and Members of Parliament
The Honourable Mayor of Durban City, Mr Obed Mlaba
Leaders of the various formations of civil society
The Executive Director of United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), Dr Peter Piot
Government officials
Representatives of development partners
People living with HIV
Representatives of community-based organisations
Ladies and gentlemen
Good evening

The third South African National AIDS conference that brings together international and local scientists, opinion-makers, activist, care-givers and officials all working in the arena of HIV and AIDS, happens at an important time when South Africans of all sectors have taken two giant leaps.

One, we have restructured and reinvigorated the South African National AIDS Council and two, we have adopted the National Strategic Plan or NSP for HIV and AIDS and Sexual Transmitted Infections (STIs) for 2007-11 and I trust that the conference will further strengthen our country's national partnership against HIV and AIDS and STIs. This strategy will promote a shared scientific knowledge and integrated approaches to the management of HIV and AIDS and its impact on our continent.

We are honoured to have all of you here for the next few days. I am told that the last two conferences were major successes and I know that such interactions usually improve over time. I am, therefore, wishing you well at what should be an even better conference this year.

An interaction of scientists, opinion-makers, activist, caregivers and officials is bound to yield rich knowledge and new challenges. It is through such constructive interactions that honest views and genuine partnerships emerge and are consolidated. The multi-sectoral nature of conference demonstrates the complexity of the disease and need to take a holistic approach and to also deal with socio-economic issues.

Government is grateful for your ability to take this comprehensive outlook, which we had always promoted. Thank you to all of you who for taking us up to this point where we now have a new South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) and the National Strategic Plan (NSP) 2007-11.

This pandemic has, forced us to work together as we recognised that the sum of the whole is bigger than its parts. We are learning that we have to work in new ways and paradigms. We are adapting to the relevant challenges of the day. Changes in our communities affect the practice of religion, culture, medicine, social development, politics, education in schools, economics, and in our sexual conduct, all have had to take into account the reality of HIV and AIDS. However, at a personal level, responsibility and power lies with each and every one of us to change the patterns of transmission and the impact of HIV and AIDS. Each one of us whether HIV negative or positive has a special role to play.

As per our goals of NSP we must have activities that we can monitor whose impact we can gauge. There are signs to suggest that the South African HIV and AIDS epidemic has now reached its peak with about 12% of a total population of 46 million estimated to be living with HIV and some of these infections have not been identified. New infections still occur; many people require treatment, care and support.

Unfortunately, those who do not know their status as a result cannot access treatment when they have to, and have become major sources for the spread of the disease in the general population. We have been pointing out the impact of the pandemic on women, but we must be concerned about the fact that men are less likely to know their status, yet they are the ones who tend to have multiple partners and are less enthusiastic about protected sex. There is a lot that we still do not know about men and need to know hence the importance of the men's sector and the focus on lifestyle changes and testing by men.

A fairly large number of adults and children that have been identified as HIV positive have access to a range of interventions including treatment of opportunistic infections, nutrition, anti-retrovirals (ARV), and terminal palliative care. All of which requires us to plan and use our human resource very wisely and optimally. Contrary to many urban legends about South Africa, this country has the largest ARV programme in the world, but it is also true that the estimated need is huge, the scale of the problem requires for us to continue to find innovative ways to quicken the pace of increasing access to health services. I also know we have the will even though we do not have all capabilities, we must lean on each other.

We are also aware that we have to manage our resources in a manner that provides a better health system for all, and to respond to the challenges of building a healthy nation.

We need as suggested by the theme to build consensus, on many fronts, on prevention, treatment, and care. Government is thankful that we have in South Africa, reached a consensus on the national response to HIV and AIDS and STIs for the next five years, as contained in the document the Strategic Plan for HIV and AIDS and STIs for South Africa: 2007-11.

What I am urging you to do, going forward is to be concrete on the actions and to be proactive, ethical and vigilant in your work. The process of reaching a national consensus was most challenging but ultimately rewarding, with the involvement of the South African National AIDS Council we can now proudly say that there is a comprehensive strategy that is owned by all the major players in the field. As I move around in the country, I hear references to this new National Strategic Plan (NSP). I know that tomorrow, the experts will give you a comprehensive understanding of the plan.

Beyond these collective responsibilities, various professional groups in our society have additional specific responsibilities. Traditional leaders, you have a critical responsibility to enforce the protective traditional practices that promote the health of our people. You also have the responsibility to discourage traditional practices that may not have been harmful in the past, but which in the present age, enable HIV to spread. In many communities you are the opinion leaders in shaping community social values.

We are unambiguous in saying that we rely on you to contribute in this very difficult task of changing value. We need you to be vocal and visible on these issues.

To our traditional healers we say: we encourage you to work with the health care system to heal people who are ill and to facilitate referrals for those who need treatment in clinics and hospitals. We need you to counsel and help people take their treatment and to lead a healthy lifestyle. Please continue to work with us. We ask the same of our traditional leadership and we thank you for your work and your cooperation through the National House of Traditional Leaders.

Health workers, civil servants and caregivers, you have a specific responsibility to provide evidence-based prevention, treatment, care and support services in partnership with organisations in your communities. Participating and in this conference is an opportunity to acquire new insights and skills that facilitate better treatment and care. Yours is a very hard and sometimes thankless job. I want to express our appreciation and continued support. 'Umbulelo ongazenzisiyo'.

Scientists are another professional grouping that has specific responsibilities. It is vital that scientists go beyond conducting scientific studies to working with policymakers to translate evidence into interventions and programmes. They also have to ensure that their research contributes to the monitoring and the evaluation of the National Strategic Plan, to make inputs into the development of a national policy on male circumcision. We must manage the public announcements on prevention and claims of cure that if not managed properly can send messages that encourage risky behaviour. The announcement about circumcision worries us specifically the manner in which it is being communicated.

We wish to thank our Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang for her sterling work she did to prepare the National Strategic Plan and wish to welcome her back from her sick leave. We also wish to thank Minister Jeff Radebe who ably took care of the Department while Minister Tshabalala-Msimang was recuperating.

South Africa would like to be part of the global networks that do research and contribute to finding solutions. Our scientists also have a responsibility to develop the capacity of the next generation researchers. A successful scientist should be the one who has developed others to do what he/she is good at. More of our young people must be encouraged to become scientists so that they can develop new prevention, treatment and care approaches. South Africa wants to build and has the capability to be part of the global pharmaceutical economy.

We also have skills to help our country to cope with task of caring for millions of vulnerable and orphaned children.

Ladies and gentlemen: Our AIDS activists are mobilising in communities, the recent South African Local Government Association conference deliberated on mainstreaming the National Strategic Plan (NSP) in municipalities, and the South African media is endorsing it. We have seen that the theme in the budget speech for the Health department in the North West province was the implementation and commitment of resources for the NSP.

I am also aware that the Managing Editor of the South African Medical Journal has given a favourable review of the NSP in the May issue of this journal. We thank you for that contribution.

We are glad that development partners are supporting the Plan, and various government departments are working on their operational plans. At our last meeting, we also learnt that different sectors were working on sector plans. The South African National AIDS Council (Sanac) will only succeed if those sector plans succeed. At this point I want to welcome and congratulate the deputy Chairperson-elect of Sanac, Mark Haywood. I look forward to working with you.

Chairperson, we are furthermore reassured that through the Inter-Ministerial Committee, government will continue to give guidance with respect to the implementation of this national plan, which was adopted by Cabinet as well as by the new National South African AIDS Council. Many South Africans now know about the ambitious targets of halving the rate of new infections and covering 80% of identified HIV positive individuals with appropriate services during the strategic plan period of 2007-11.

We shall continue to support research both to improve our service delivery systems and approaches and to look for better prevention and treatment options. We have identified a set of measurable indicators by which to monitor progress with implementation.

The monitoring and evaluation framework of the strategic plan allows for alignment with relevant regional and international commitments, and it allows for periodic surveys, reviews and regular surveillance. We have a broad sense of the required financial resources. Serious discussions have been held with government and business around this matter.

A detailed costing study is underway, and we shall return to these major players with a more specific request and our development partners and major foundations will be guided to a defined financial gap. I am confident that financial resources will not be a deterrent in implementing our NSP. Capacities to spend as well as the risk management mechanisms will need to be enhanced.

This is a three-year social mobilisation programme, a critical element of which is communicating the details of the plan to the general public, whilst educating South Africans on specific HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support programmes. It is now time for all of us to go to work, building on what has been done and intensifying the implementations of interventions as outlined in the plan, especially the prevention of new HIV infections. There is work for each and every one of us.

I am aware that some government departments and civil society sectors are busy with the operationalisation of the NSP for their environments. There are specific targets that we set ourselves for the year 2007, and we must deliver on these activities.

It is, therefore, my privilege ladies and gentlemen to declare this conference open and to simultaneously launch the HIV and AIDS and STI Strategic Plan for South Africa for the period 2007-11. All conference delegates are offered a printed copy of the NSP, courtesy of Sanac. A distribution plan is underway for the document to reach as many people as possible. It will be posted on the government website, Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) and Department of Health websites in the next few days.

I am very disturbed that the Minister of Health was allocated to speak only in a panel. The ministry is our champion of health policy and the custodian of its implementation. And you allocate a speaking slot to her deputy. This type of politics is very unhelpful and does not contribute to the environment we are building to fight the battle together. Fight those battles elsewhere if you have to.

This convergence of scientists, academics, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), donors and activists today, is an opportunity to share new knowledge and insights in building consensus for prevention, treatment and care. I wish you the best for the next four days at the conference.

I thank you.

Issued by: The Presidency
5 June 2007