Address by HE Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, at the Conference of the Hospice Palliative Care Association (HPCA), Elangeni Hotel, Durban

Salutations
Programme Director,
Dr Liz Gwyther, Chairperson of the HPCA,
Members of the HPCA,
Representatives of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and community based organisations (CBOs),
Doctors, nurses, volunteers, caregivers, traditional healers,
People living with cancer and HIV and AIDS,
Ladies and gentlemen

Acknowledgment of good work

I am pleased to be addressing you at this Hospice Palliative Care Association (HPCA) Conference. As you all know August is celebrated as women's month in our country. If you would allow me to, I would like to pay tribute to all the South African women, who make us the winning nation we are. The HPCA's conference today, brings together all national stakeholders involved in providing palliative care to patients suffering from terminal illnesses such as cancer and HIV and AIDS.

I understand that the HPCA was formed in 1987 with the aim of pooling and optimising the resources and expertise of its member hospices from around our country. In South African communities today, the word hospice has become a household name. As many people have come to appreciate and value the services rendered by hospices at times when they need it most.

The dedication and commitment of all staff in hospices and caring services has led to these ordinary people also learning about the importance of care-giving. To all the caregivers in Hospices, at home, in the society, in government and families we all owe you 'umbulelo ongazenzisiyo.' Indeed, as government we are encouraged by the exceptional work the HPCA continues to do, and we congratulate all of you for helping to build a caring nation and ask you to help us spread this value, which in some instances eludes us.

I understand that in 2005, the HPCA cared for an estimated 49 000 patients: of those 15 000 were cancer patients and 34 000 were HIV positive patients. Increasingly, that the Hospice Palliative Care Association has been responding to the many needs of HIV positive people and their families. The HPCA estimates a much greater current need, I have also learnt.

Education and training

For this reason, Programme Director, we applaud the HPCA's efforts at further education and training on palliative care for doctors, nurses, community caregivers, and volunteers. This training is done in conjunction with the Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority (HWSETA). Many of our young people with their hearts in the right place need to see this as an opportunity to provide a service and to get a career.

South African National AIDS Council (SANAC)

As government we are pleased that the Hospice Palliative Care Association plays an active role in the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC). As many of you know the restructured and reinvigorated Council was established earlier this year. More importantly the South African National AIDS Council adopted a new National Strategic Plan for the period 2007 to 2011. After extensive consultation with all sectors, a broad consensus was reached and the new comprehensive National Strategic Plan was adopted. We now need to accelerate the implementation of this plan, which has a holistic and multi-pronged approach to HIV and AIDS.

National Strategic Plan (NSP)

The National Strategic Plan for the period 2007-2011 focuses on the following key areas namely: prevention, treatment, care and support, human rights and access to justice, and research and monitoring and surveillance. The National Strategic Plan also explains the need to simultaneously address a number of important issues, which impacts on HIV and AIDS. These issues are:
* gender violence
* economic well-being
* education of girls and boys
* improving access to maternal health
* fast-tracking and easy access to antiretrovirals (ARVs) for pregnant women
* provision of treatment and support
* prevention of mother to child transmission with added focus on caring for mothers
* food security for mothers who are HIV positive
* stigma and other cultural practices that discriminate or punish HIV positive women and their children
* acceleration of programmes for orphans and vulnerable children
* support of programmes championed by HIV positive women

We are currently asking the SANAC members and sectors to develop sector plans through which they can assist to implement the National Strategic Plan 2007-11. I hope you will also look into this aspect, which can be discussed with the SANAC secretariat. SANAC is only as strong and relevant as the sectors that are participating. We are also encouraging sectors to link up with the government departments that are relevant to them.

We have also undertaken to work closely with People living with HIV and AIDS and to encourage a co-operative approach between them, and Joint Initiatives; and strengthened representation in SANAC. I am sure I do not have to tell you about the importance of encouraging people who are infected with the HI Virus to stay and live positively and those ones living positively can assist with peer education.

Opportunistic infections and ARVs

The HPCA has played an important role in supporting the aggressive management of HIV and AIDS and opportunistic infections. The HPCA has accommodated patients with low CD4 counts to receive their initial ARV treatment at the hospice in-patients units. This assists in supervising and managing the Immune Reconstitution reaction. Together with home-based caregivers, you help to ensure that patients follow their ARV treatment as prescribed. We thank you for that. We need your guidance as government on how we can ensure that access to poverty relief does not have unintended results of making people choose to get sick in order to get food aid and other support where that happens. This is a clear indication that our people are very poor and we need to do more to fight poverty overall.

Every child is my child

Programme Director, we need to continue to also provide for children made orphans and vulnerable. Through the Department of Social Development we are creating safety nets for children most at risk. Amongst other things, government is looking at issues of grants to child-headed household and grants for poor families who take care of orphans and children at risk. In theory government is able and definitely willing to reach all the children who are in need. I know we have many mishaps and we need you to help us do much better and close the gaps.

In addition, government has initiated a mentoring programme called 'Every child is my child,' where adults and young people mentor, younger people and children.
The Umsobomvu Fund and the National Youth Commission, have such a programme called the Big Brother and Big Sister Programme. We have identified a big shortage of adult males as role models to young boys. As government we are asking more people to become involved in these initiatives.

We are encouraging corporations to initiate their own mentoring programmes with their employees. As a nation we need to take care of our children and younger people, particularly those more at risk and more vulnerable. We are particularly seeking good male role models and mentors of boy children. The boy children do ask for male mentors, who are few and far in between. So whether it is providing facilities of delivering government services, SANAC, caring for children or training we need you as essential partners whose contributions we value!

Conclusion

Programme Director, as South Africans, we are humbled and inspired by the work done by the Hospice Palliative Care Association. We salute the work of all your member hospices around our country. We are committed to an ongoing partnership with the HPCA, SANAC and all other organisations, in fighting diseases such as cancer and HIV and AIDS and other chronic diseases, who provide such an important service where often and as a rule you have to go beyond the call of duty.

God Bless!

Issued by: The Presidency
15 August 2007