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SA: Cyril Ramaphosa: Address by South African Deputy President, on World Aids Day, Daveyton, Ekurhuleni (01/12/2016)

South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa
Photo by Duane
South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa

2nd December 2016

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Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi,
Premier of Gauteng, Mr David Makhura,
Executive Mayor of Ekurhuleni, Cllr Mzwandile Masina,
Ministers, Deputy Ministers, MECs and councillors,
UNAIDS Special Advocate for the Health of Women, Youth and Children, Ms Tobeka Madiba-Zuma,
UNAIDS Country Director, Dr Erasmus Morah and other senior representatives of the UN System,
Deputy Chairperson of SANAC, Ms Mapaseka Steve Letsike,
President of Cosatu, Mr S’dumo Dlamini,
Leaders of various sectors of SANAC,

Sanibonani eDaveyton!

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Thank you for joining us for World Aids Day.

 

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Every year on the 1st of December we observe the passage of another year in the struggle against HIV, AIDS and TB.

It is an annual event to which we have become accustomed.

But nothing about the epidemic, its devastation and debilitating effects, is routine.

As we mark World AIDS Day 2016, we dare not be content.

We dare not be complacent.

For South Africa is facing an HIV infection emergency.

Ingculazi isasihlupha lapha ezweni lethu.

As we applaud our remarkable achievements in expanding antiretroviral treatment to more than 3.7 million people, as we celebrate the dramatic reduction of mother to child transmission of HIV, as we welcome the marked increase in average life expectancy, we must be alarmed that the rate of new HIV infection remains stubbornly high.

We know that last year, an estimated 266,000 South Africans became infected with HIV.

And each week, there are an estimated 2,000 new HIV infections in adolescent girls and young women aged 15 to 24 years.

Izingane zethu ziyaqhubeka ukuba sengozini yesifo sika masha’yabhuqe!

That is not a mere statistic. That is a tragedy unfolding.

Unless we act now to significantly reduce new HIV infections, the progress we have made in the struggle against AIDS will be eroded.

Unless we act now to reduce new HIV infections, the health and lives of millions more South Africans will be put at risk.

Unless we act now to reduce new HIV infections, millions more will be vulnerable to tuberculosis – isifo sofuba.

Unless we act now to reduce new HIV infections, we will struggle to sustain our antiretroviral treatment programme.

Unless we act now to reduce new HIV infections, despite our best efforts, many young lives will be lost.

Although the challenges are daunting, we must not be overwhelmed.

Asinganeki izandla. Asingapheli amandla.

That is why this World AIDS Day must be about personal responsibility, collective responsibility, empowerment and action.

It is in our hands to end HIV and TB.

Singayinqoba ingculazi uma siziphatha kahle, sizivikela, sicabangela ikusasa.

Through our behaviour, through our relationships, through our attitudes, we have the means to end HIV and TB.

We know that many of our people – particularly young women – find themselves in desperate circumstances.

But they do not need to become victims of those circumstances.

Young people should not feel alone.

They should seek help and support from parents, grandparents, friends, teachers, social workers and health workers.

They should be supported to make their own decisions about their bodies, their sexual conduct and their lives.

They must feel empowered to abstain from sex until they are ready.

They must have the consciousness to avoid multiple sexual partners.

Asingabi namasoka amaningi.

Asingabi nezintombi eziningi.

Ubusoka busifaka enkingeni ngoba uzithola unesifo socansi (ama STDs) ungazi nokuthi usithole kubani.

Young people must have the confidence to insist on using condoms.

They must have the confidence to say: ‘One condom, one round!’

They must have the confidence to say: ‘No condom, no sex!’

Government has responded to the call to introduce new condoms.

We now have Max Condoms, which have become very popular.

Max Condoms, which are being distributed at taxi ranks, public toilets and even taverns, help prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

These condoms are coloured and scented for maximum protection, maximum pleasure and maximum safety.

Yet, if we are to reduce new infections, our response needs to extend beyond instilling a sense of personal pride and responsibility.

Our response needs to address some of the social and economic factors that contribute to the vulnerability of particular sections of society.

It is with this in mind that we launched the ‘She Conquers’ campaign to address the high rate of HIV infection among adolescent girls and young women.

It seeks to engage, encourage and empower young women.

It seeks to keep adolescent girls in school at least until matric, recognising that education is fundamental to reducing the vulnerability of young women and creating opportunities for economic advancement.

It also sets out to tackle the challenges of teenage pregnancy and gender-based violence.

As we work to empower young women, we must increase our efforts to reach out to men.

They too must have the confidence, the consciousness and the self-awareness to behave responsibly and act with respect.

As young women we must embrace this campaign and with pride.

We must all say ‘we will conquer’, Sizonqoba!

Programme Director,

We must overcome the reluctance of men to test for HIV and go on treatment as soon as they are diagnosed HIV positive.

Bo ntate ba baholo baseke ba ratana le bana babannyane. A re hlomphaneng sechaba sa heso. A re ageng sechaba sa maAfrika a tsebang hore malapa a rona a bohlokwa haholo.

We must challenge unequal power relations between men and women, and particularly between older men and younger women.

If we are to succeed, we must confront issues that are often difficult and awkward.

Men must step forward and say: ‘we will protect our ourselves, children and our partners from HIV and TB’.

Amadoda angempela ayalwa nesifo zengculazi.

Amadado angempela asebenzisa ama condoms uma eya ocansini.

Amadoda aqotho ahamba emitholampilo afune usizo uma esola ukuthi anezifo ethathelanayo.

Amadoda angempela angabanqobi – anqoba isifo sengculazi ngokuzinakekela.

Amadoda aqotho enza i-circumcision.

We must find ways of discussing sexual health with our children.

We need to speak freely and openly about HIV.

Re loketse ho bua ka twatsi yaHIV, re rutane ka yona hore re tsebe go ifedisa.

We cannot allow ignorance and prejudice to destroy our youth.

Today we must reassure those who are infected and affected by HIV that theirs can be a life full of hope and opportunity.

No more can we tolerate the abuse and victimisation of vulnerable groups such as sex workers and members of the LGBTI community.

We must stand up for the rights of all people to information, support, health care and dignity.

We must all pledge to treat shame with reassurance, embarrassment with understanding and fear with hope.

As we mark World AIDS Day 2016, we are indeed facing an HIV infection emergency.

But we must not give in to despair.

Masinga lahli ithemba, are seke ra latlha tshepo. Bonang hore meriana ere thusitse jwang. Kajeno batho batseba ho phela bophelo bobontle, batseba leho sebetsa.

We must find courage in the many stories of survival and recovery.

We must find hope in the scientific advances in treatment, prevention and vaccine research.

We welcome in particular the groundbreaking new HIV vaccine trial that has just been launched in this country, and applaud the South African scientists who are leading this critical research.

We find hope in the fact that over 800 million male condoms and over 27 million female condoms were distributed to South Africans last year.

We find hope in the fact that 35 million HIV tests were done over the last five years.

Today is a celebration of the tenacity of the human spirit.

It is an affirmation of our determination, against all the odds and despite all our challenges, to end HIV and TB.

It is a demonstration of our commitment to a future of zero new infections, zero discrimination, zero AIDS-related deaths and zero new vertical transmissions.

Let us stand together as the people of South Africa to recognise the injustices of our past and the error of our ways.

Let us honour those who have died from preventable and treatable diseases.

Let us honour and respect those who have stood firm and fought hard when many of us lived oblivious to the ravages of HIV and AIDS.

Let us continue to lay the foundations for an AIDS-free generation.

Let us pledge to improve the quality of life of all that are affected and infected with HIV.

It is in our hands to end AIDS and TB.

I thank you.

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