Date: 14/03/2007

Source: Department of Health

Title: Radebe: National Consultative Conference on Draft HIV & AIDS and STI Strategic Plan

Speech by the Acting Minister of Health, Jeff Radebe, at the National Consultative Conference on HIV and AIDS

Programme Director,
Deputy President,
Ministers,
MECs for Health,
General Secretary of Cosatu and representatives of business and civil society groups and
All stakeholders in the national response to HIV and AIDS
Honoured delegates
Ladies and gentlemen

Let me take this opportunity to acknowledge my colleague, Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang who played a critical role in the development of the new National Strategic Plan for HIV and AIDS that we are going to discuss at this conference. As you know, I was appointed by the President last month to ensure that this process and all other health programmes continue while Minister Tshabalala-Msimang is recovering at the hospital. As government, we wish her a speedy recovery.

We are gathered here today in what I regard as a major landmark in our efforts as the people of South Africa to respond to HIV and AIDS. HIV and AIDS is a major challenge facing us and it has affected our lives in many different ways.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and Aids (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organisation estimated the number of people living with HIV at the end of 2006 to be 40.3 million worldwide. This represents a 7.5% increase since 2003 estimates put the figure at 37.5 million. While approximately 10% of the world's population lives in sub-Saharan Africa, the region is a home to at least 65% of all people living with HIV-including 77% of all women living with HIV.

Gender inequality, poverty and underdevelopment are some of the major factors influencing this disease pattern. Since 1994, efforts have been made by our democratic government to address these historical challenges.

Several programmes form the thrust of government interventions and ensure greater access to education, health services, alleviation of poverty, empowerment of women, and the provision of basic services such as shelter, clean water and sanitation.

Growing a job creating economy is critical in ensuring sustained development and this emphasises the need for programmes such as the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA) which is ably led by our Deputy President.

A lot of progress has been made in trying to address the challenge of HIV and AIDS through the implementation of our previous National Strategic Plan for HIV and AIDS for 2000-2005.

Commitment of financial resources, for instance, has been phenomenal during this period, with the government spending priorities showing an increase from R264 million in 2001/02 to R1,5 billion in 2005/06 financial year. Available funds are expected to increase to around R7 billion in 2010/2011 for the public health sector only.

Prevention campaigns are being enhanced to strengthen the promotion of abstinence and being faithful, while more than 380 million condoms are being distributed annually. Voluntary counselling and testing services are available in more than 4 000 centres. At least 83% of clinics are providing services to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV and we intend to reach 100% by the end of this year.

More than 480 000 people have benefited from nutritional supplementation. Treatment of opportunistic infections which is critical in the management of HIV and AIDS is available in most hospitals and clinics including get free testing and treatment for TB.

Antiretroviral treatment is now available at 293 health facilities spread across the country and has enrolled 245 670 patients by December 2006.

Yesterday, together with the Deputy President, we visited clinics that are providing antiretroviral therapy in Cape Town-one in Vangaurd and the other in Gugulethu. I was very much impressed about the outstanding work that is being done at these facilities. Besides the high number of people that these clinics are treating about 2000 people on treatment each they have established a very good network of treatment supporters which has enabled them to reach treatment compliance of about 94%.

While we recognise the progress made, we also acknowledge the challenges that have to be addressed. Of particular importance is the need for strengthening of the health system as this is fundamental to the provision of quality health care to our population including people living with HIV and AIDS.

We have to address the issue of shortage and uneven distribution of health professionals in the country. We also have to ensure that the Hospital Revitalisation Programme covers those institutions where there are significant challenges as a result of deterioration of the infrastructure and high demand for services.

The reduction of the prices of medicines and other essential commodities remains a very critical area of intervention. Affordability of these commodities is critical in improving accessibility and sustainability of treatment interventions. We also have to encourage innovation and ethical research into additional tools for responding to HIV and AIDS.

We are encouraged by the significant progress that has been made by the Task Team in further developing the Strategic Plan that will be presented to you later this morning. The Task Team was made up of people with different expertise in the area of HIV and AIDS from government, business and civil society.

We believe that the spirit of renewed partnership amongst all role-players in the response to HIV and AIDS has assisted the Task Team to work with vigour to ensure that the draft plan is ready for presentation to you today.

In addition to various sectoral summits that have been held, this conference has been convened to ensure that every stakeholder has an opportunity to make an input into the development of this plan. We have gone through this extensive consultation process to ensure that all of us as a nation take ownership of the final document that will ultimately be adopted by the new South African National AIDS Council.

This is a country plan and therefore it should encompass, as much as possible, inputs from all of us as role-players. More importantly, it should also enjoy our collective commitment as various sectors in contributing to its successful implementation.

We believe that the draft National Strategic Plan that will be presented this morning provides a sound basis for a fruitful discussion for this conference.

The National Consultative Conference brings together a wide range of perspectives-from government, non-governmental organisations, academic, corporate and community-in finalising the draft National Strategic Plan on HIV, AIDS and STIs 2007-2011 and demonstrates collective effort and united action in the management of HIV and AIDS.

We have to agree on key priorities for the next five years including efforts to intensify the implementation of existing programmes and develop new strategies which could further accelerate progress.

As you will notice in the presentation, the National Strategic Plan includes ambitious targets to reverse the course of HIV and AIDS over the next five years. The discussion on targets will also lead us to deliberations on the amount of resources required to implement strategies to meet these targets within the specified period.

These bold targets reflect our commitment to combat HIV, AIDS and STIs and achieving them will require intense collective effort by every one. Most importantly, reaching these targets requires individual behavioural change and responsibility from all of us.

I would like to wish all of us fruitful deliberations at this conference and I hope this should lead to our collective endorsement of South Africa's new National Strategic Plan for HIV and AIDS and STIs for 2007-2011.

Thank you

Issued by: Department of Health
14 March 2007