Date: 11/04/2006
Source: Department of Health
Title: Tshabalala-Msimang: Launch of Accelerated Prevention of HIV and AIDS initiative
Speech by the Minister of Health, Dr Mantu Tshabalala-Msimang at the launch of the Accelerated Prevention of HIV and AIDS initiative, Johannesburg
Programme Director
Representatives of SADC
Representatives from the Pan African Parliament
Regional UNAIDS Director
Representatives of Civil Society
Members of the press
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning to you all.
Today, the member states of the Africa Region of the World Health Organisation launch the Year for Accelerating HIV Prevention. African Ministers of Health declared this initiative last year in Maputo, Mozambique. There were specific reason why we had to take this important decision as Ministers of Health from the region most affected by HIV and AIDS.
Over the past years, there has been a great deal of engagement over the issues relating only to access to treatment. We made efforts to ensure that treatment is understood in its broader sense to include treatment of opportunistic infections and sexually transmitted infections. Even today, we are still struggling to get appropriate recognition of African traditional medicines as effective interventions in addressing the challenge of HIV and AIDS.
Some groups have lobbied extensively for the provision of antiretroviral drugs as the main intervention in dealing with HIV and AIDS. These campaigns were supported by a number of international initiatives, the last being the WHOs Three by Five initiatives which aimed to provide antiretroviral treatment to three million people by the year 2005. All these efforts were being made despite the challenges in the capacity of health systems in Africa to safely administer and monitor this type of therapy. There were also serious challenges in terms of affordability the drugs and sustainability of these initiatives in our context.
The approach of the South African Government was to insist on creating favourable conditions for introduction of this intervention. We focused our efforts on reducing the prices of medicines, building the capacity of our health system and mobilising sufficient resources within our own fiscus to ensure sustainability of such an intervention. In due course, we indeed added this element to our comprehensive response to HIV and AIDS in the country.
The unfortunate consequence of this engagement on treatment locally and internationally has been the downgrading of prevention as a central element in responding to this health condition, for which there is still no known cure. Prevention became the forgotten child of the HIV and AIDS response.
The South African Government has always emphasised the need for a comprehensive approach to HIV and AIDS. In the absence of a cure, we have emphasised that prevention remains the mainstay of our response.
We are glad that today, there is a better understanding of the critical role of prevention and the need for a global focus on this particular intervention.
The purpose of the year for Accelerated HIV Prevention is to reflect on our prevention efforts and establish their effectiveness.
We have to identify the drivers of the spread of HIV infection in the region and make concerted efforts to address them. These factors include poverty, underdevelopment and gender inequalities that make women more vulnerable to HIV infection and the impact of AIDS.
Prevention campaign also gives us an opportunity to build the moral fibre of our society and intensify the Healthy Lifestyle Programme as the main intervention in promoting good health amongst our people. The Healthy Lifestyle Programme includes:
* Promotion of regular physical activity and good nutrition
* Tobacco control
* Reducing the levels of alcohol and substance abuse
* And promoting safe sexual behaviour.
We will be increasing our efforts as Department of Health to support interventions aimed at promoting abstinence and being faithful. Building on the massive condom distribution programme which is averaging at more than 300 million per year, our messages will focus particularly on the correct and consistence use of these commodities that government make available free of charge.
We will be up-scaling our communication and social mobilisation campaign. The budget for the campaign over a two year period has been increased from R160 million to R200 million. The department is currently finalising the specification for the new communication tender and this tender will be advertised and awarded accordingly.
HIV communication programmes need to be transformed from being behavioural change, driven to supporting real interventions on the ground. They need to makes a difference in the lives of people, including those living with HIV and AIDS. The challenge for communication programme is to move beyond simple messaging and provide effective links to service delivery.
We have significantly increased coverage for Voluntary Counselling and Testing and Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission programme. While we continue to expand the coverage, we will also make efforts to encourage more up take within these programmes.
Programme Director, there are many opportunities for us to reflect together on how to accelerate HIV prevention during the course of this year. In Abuja next month, African Heads of State will gather to review the progress made in meeting the goals we set five years ago at the Abuja Summit of Heads of State on HIV and AIDS, TB and other infectious diseases.
During this summit we will reflect on national and regional discussions that have been undertaken on how to make universal access to HIV and AIDS prevention, care and treatment a reality.
During these discuss, we made significant efforts as a country to broaden the definition of universal access to encompass prevention, care and treatment as critical elements of a response to HIV and AIDS. I am glad that this comprehensive approach, which has been championed by South African Government for many years, is beginning to gain broader global support.
There is no doubt that much progress has been made in addressing the challenge of HIV and AIDS in the country. There are indeed challenges which we have all acknowledged and are seeking the best ways to address them. As we make presentation to the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV and AIDS at the end of May, we need to share our best practices with the world and learn from the experiences of fellow United Nations member states.
We need to ensure appropriate projection of the work done by many South Africans and their government in curbing the spread of HIV infection and reducing the impact of AIDS.
Let us all support this endeavour to ensure that prevention re-assumes its rightful position as the mainstay of the global response to HIV and AIDS.
Thank you.
Issued by: Department of Health
11 April 2006
Source: Department of Health
Title: Tshabalala-Msimang: Launch of Accelerated Prevention of HIV and AIDS initiative
Speech by the Minister of Health, Dr Mantu Tshabalala-Msimang at the launch of the Accelerated Prevention of HIV and AIDS initiative, Johannesburg
Programme Director
Representatives of SADC
Representatives from the Pan African Parliament
Regional UNAIDS Director
Representatives of Civil Society
Members of the press
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning to you all.
Today, the member states of the Africa Region of the World Health Organisation launch the Year for Accelerating HIV Prevention. African Ministers of Health declared this initiative last year in Maputo, Mozambique. There were specific reason why we had to take this important decision as Ministers of Health from the region most affected by HIV and AIDS.
Over the past years, there has been a great deal of engagement over the issues relating only to access to treatment. We made efforts to ensure that treatment is understood in its broader sense to include treatment of opportunistic infections and sexually transmitted infections. Even today, we are still struggling to get appropriate recognition of African traditional medicines as effective interventions in addressing the challenge of HIV and AIDS.
Some groups have lobbied extensively for the provision of antiretroviral drugs as the main intervention in dealing with HIV and AIDS. These campaigns were supported by a number of international initiatives, the last being the WHOs Three by Five initiatives which aimed to provide antiretroviral treatment to three million people by the year 2005. All these efforts were being made despite the challenges in the capacity of health systems in Africa to safely administer and monitor this type of therapy. There were also serious challenges in terms of affordability the drugs and sustainability of these initiatives in our context.
The approach of the South African Government was to insist on creating favourable conditions for introduction of this intervention. We focused our efforts on reducing the prices of medicines, building the capacity of our health system and mobilising sufficient resources within our own fiscus to ensure sustainability of such an intervention. In due course, we indeed added this element to our comprehensive response to HIV and AIDS in the country.
The unfortunate consequence of this engagement on treatment locally and internationally has been the downgrading of prevention as a central element in responding to this health condition, for which there is still no known cure. Prevention became the forgotten child of the HIV and AIDS response.
The South African Government has always emphasised the need for a comprehensive approach to HIV and AIDS. In the absence of a cure, we have emphasised that prevention remains the mainstay of our response.
We are glad that today, there is a better understanding of the critical role of prevention and the need for a global focus on this particular intervention.
The purpose of the year for Accelerated HIV Prevention is to reflect on our prevention efforts and establish their effectiveness.
We have to identify the drivers of the spread of HIV infection in the region and make concerted efforts to address them. These factors include poverty, underdevelopment and gender inequalities that make women more vulnerable to HIV infection and the impact of AIDS.
Prevention campaign also gives us an opportunity to build the moral fibre of our society and intensify the Healthy Lifestyle Programme as the main intervention in promoting good health amongst our people. The Healthy Lifestyle Programme includes:
* Promotion of regular physical activity and good nutrition
* Tobacco control
* Reducing the levels of alcohol and substance abuse
* And promoting safe sexual behaviour.
We will be increasing our efforts as Department of Health to support interventions aimed at promoting abstinence and being faithful. Building on the massive condom distribution programme which is averaging at more than 300 million per year, our messages will focus particularly on the correct and consistence use of these commodities that government make available free of charge.
We will be up-scaling our communication and social mobilisation campaign. The budget for the campaign over a two year period has been increased from R160 million to R200 million. The department is currently finalising the specification for the new communication tender and this tender will be advertised and awarded accordingly.
HIV communication programmes need to be transformed from being behavioural change, driven to supporting real interventions on the ground. They need to makes a difference in the lives of people, including those living with HIV and AIDS. The challenge for communication programme is to move beyond simple messaging and provide effective links to service delivery.
We have significantly increased coverage for Voluntary Counselling and Testing and Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission programme. While we continue to expand the coverage, we will also make efforts to encourage more up take within these programmes.
Programme Director, there are many opportunities for us to reflect together on how to accelerate HIV prevention during the course of this year. In Abuja next month, African Heads of State will gather to review the progress made in meeting the goals we set five years ago at the Abuja Summit of Heads of State on HIV and AIDS, TB and other infectious diseases.
During this summit we will reflect on national and regional discussions that have been undertaken on how to make universal access to HIV and AIDS prevention, care and treatment a reality.
During these discuss, we made significant efforts as a country to broaden the definition of universal access to encompass prevention, care and treatment as critical elements of a response to HIV and AIDS. I am glad that this comprehensive approach, which has been championed by South African Government for many years, is beginning to gain broader global support.
There is no doubt that much progress has been made in addressing the challenge of HIV and AIDS in the country. There are indeed challenges which we have all acknowledged and are seeking the best ways to address them. As we make presentation to the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV and AIDS at the end of May, we need to share our best practices with the world and learn from the experiences of fellow United Nations member states.
We need to ensure appropriate projection of the work done by many South Africans and their government in curbing the spread of HIV infection and reducing the impact of AIDS.
Let us all support this endeavour to ensure that prevention re-assumes its rightful position as the mainstay of the global response to HIV and AIDS.
Thank you.
Issued by: Department of Health
11 April 2006
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