Date: 10/08/2004
Source: Department of Health
Title: M Tshabalala-Msimang: Launch of Brailed HIV and AIDS directory


SPEECH BY THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AT THE LAUNCH OF THE BRAILED HIV AND AIDS DIRECTORY, UNISA, Pretoria, 10 August 2004

Programme Director
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen

Before I commence with the business of the day, I would like to wish each and every woman in the audience a happy Women's Day.

Yesterday the whole country celebrated an important day in the emancipation of women in our country and the whole world.

I am aware that these are freedoms that we all take for granted sometimes, but it is important to remember the numerous heroes who fought the liberation of women in a patriarchal and man-dominated world.

Therefore, in honour and in appreciation of the role played by women in every sector of life in society, I humbly request you to stand up for one minute in reverence to the girl child, our mothers, our partners and all the women of South Africa.

Thank You.

I know that our blind and visually impaired citizens, especially those living with the HIV and AIDS or those affected by it, will use this tool to empower themselves and their communities.

The University of South Africa has truly enriched the lives of many people with disabilities by making this directory available in Braille.

Ten years ago, on 27 April 1994, we marked the end of the apartheid era in South Africa and the dawning of democracy in a land plagued with inequalities.

We put all our efforts into making the dream of a democratic South Africa come true.

As we know, the legacy of Apartheid meant poverty, poor housing, illiteracy, unemployment and political violence - all of which in turn took a toll on the health of the disadvantaged, especially for people with disabilities.

Over the last ten years of our democracy, we faced the huge challenge of building a health system, which serves the needs of all our people to ensure access to quality healthcare services.

Our efforts united the racially divided and fragmented public health sector into a single system and focused resources on those who suffered apartheid's harshest blows.

I would like to share with you a few achievements in the public health sector over the past ten years that should make us, as South Africans, proud:

* We improved access to health services by building 1 300 new primary health care clinics and 18 new hospitals;
* All primary health care services rendered at clinic level, including medicines, are now free of charge;
* Public hospital care is free for pregnant women and children under six;
* We have reduced the gap in per capita health spending between the highest and lowest spending provinces by 40% between 1995 and 2002;
* 4,6-million children get a free meal every school day;
* Malaria cases have dropped by 70% within three years of implementing a new control strategy;
* Public places are, by law, tobacco free; and
* A system of price control for medicines has been introduced in order to make medicines more affordable.

As government, we have always sought to strengthen partnerships with all role players in the health sector and this outreach programme gives meaning to a people's contract that will ensure a better life for all.

In this spirit, the Department of Health collaborated with UNISA to develop this Brailed HIV and AIDS directory to provide information about the support and care services available for people living with HIV and AIDS, where the services can be accessed and who can be contacted to find out more about HIV and AIDS and related issues.

I hope the directory will allow blind and visually impaired individuals as well as organisations that provide support and care, to access the services available relating to HIV and AIDS.

I have always maintained that the private sector, non-governmental organisations and academic institutions like UNISA have a role to play in the huge task of restoring dignity to the lives of the poor and vulnerable groups.

Government has always been passionate about the rights of people with disabilities and will continue to encourage society to uphold and respect these rights.

While we have educated our communities about the rights of people with disabilities, and developed and implemented laws to protect them against discrimination and violation, incidences of physical and sexual abuse continue to be reported.

This type of violence and abuse increases the risk of contracting sexual transmitted infections, including HIV and AIDS.

Government, NGO's, business and labour organisations are at the forefront in educational and awareness campaigns on the prevention and treatment of STIs and HIV and AIDS. Unfortunately, we are unable to adequately communicate to people with disabilities and the Department is looking into this.

With regard to HIV and AIDS specifically, I am proud to say that:

* We have developed audio cassettes for the blind with key HIV and AIDS messages;
* We printed the Five-Year STI, HIV and AIDS Strategic plan in Braille;
* We held numerous workshops with the disability sector to discuss issues of concern to them such as sexually transmitted infections, how to use a condom etc
* People with disabilities are represented on the South African National AIDS Council to ensure they are actively involved in the decision making process; and
* My business cards are also written in Braille.

The Department has expanded the STI, TB and HIV and AIDS programmes to specialised non-governmental and community-based organisations.

We are also working in close collaboration with the Disability Desk in the Office of the President and the various Councils for Disabled People.

Whilst the concept of partnership has been differently understood by different organisations, at its broadest level, it involves expanding the responsibility for managing the impact of HIV, AIDS and TB beyond formal health care settings and into the various sectors and communities.

The Partnership Against AIDS, spearheaded by my Department, has the capacity to garner support and involvement from all of us - whether we represent men or women, those infected or affected by HIV and AIDS, government, the entertainment sector, faith-based organisations, the disabled or business, media or traditional leaders and healers, or whether we belong to sport, hospitality or youth organisations.

We should strive to have more active partners, such as UNISA, that identified the need and took the initiative to develop a directory for blind people in South Africa.

Government is consistently seeking creative ways to communicate our messages on HIV and AIDS and related issues.

It is high time that society accepts that people with disabilities are not immune to HIV and AIDS.

We need to ensure that we provide the supportive environment to people with disabilities to enable them to protect themselves through increasing access to condoms, early detection of sexually transmitted infections, access to health care and testing and counselling facilities.

As South Africans, we must speak out against the stigma, shame, denial and discrimination that have been associated with both people with disabilities and people living with HIV and AIDS.

Through our actions let us demonstrate that as a country we are in the forefront of protecting the rights of people and ensure a caring and supportive environment.

Health is a human right for all beings regardless of background, educational status, gender and culture.

It is my sincere hope that this initiative we are launching today will go a long way towards a greater sense of health and wholeness in the disability community.

I Thank You.

Issued by: Department of Health
10 August 2004