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The Health Ministry has disputed claims that there is an "extraordinary breach" between the South African government and the United Nations over HIV and AIDS.

This follows an article published in the New York Times about a book published by the United Nations' special envoy to Africa on AIDS, Stephen Lewis.

The book is said to be a compilation of lectures that Lewis delivered as a private citizen of the US over the past year.

“Our understanding is that opinions expressed in this book do not reflect the views of the UN on the South African AIDS programme,” said Health Spokesperson Sibani Mngadi in a statement.

In the latest report to the UN General Assembly Special Session on AIDS, Secretary General Kofi Annan singled out and commended South Africa for tripling its resource allocation for HIV and AIDS programmes since the adoption of the UN Declaration of Commitment on HIV and AIDS in 2001.

"Most countries are increasing their financial commitment to HIV/AIDS programmes, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where domestic allocation has grown. This year, the Government of South Africa tripled its investment in HIV/AIDS programmes to US$89 million," said Annan in the report.

The World Health Organization (WHO) progress report on the expansion of AIDS treatment released in June this year emphasised this point.

"South Africa has committed $1-billion over the next three years to scaling up Antiretroviral Treatment, by far the largest budget allocation of any low- or middle-income country," the WHO said.

These resources, said the Health department, were being used effectively to curb the spread of HIV infection and reduce the impact of AIDS on the ground.

“Our condom distribution programme cannot be compared to any in the world,” said Mngadi.

He added that public health sector male condom distribution had increased from 270-million in 2003 to 302-million in 2004 and female condom distribution rose from 1,3-million to 2,6-million during the same period.

According to the department there were now 192 public health facilities providing HIV and AIDS related services, including antiretroviral drugs. These facilities are spread across all the 53 districts in the country and cover at least 62% of local municipalities.

By the end of August 2005, 78 000 people had been initiated on ARV treatment in these facilities. More than R3,4-billion had been allocated for procurement of antiretroviral drugs for the period up to the end of 2007.

“There are clear channels of interaction between South Africa and various UN agencies and none of the UN employees are banned from carrying out their duties in this country,” Mngadi said.

He added that South Africa was committed to continue working together with various UN agencies in a global response to HIV and AIDS.

“In this regard, we will continue to strive for alleviation of poverty that exposes our population to diseases and work towards the strengthening of health systems to ensure delivery of quality health care, including HIV and AIDS treatment, in South Africa,” Mngadi said. - BuaNews

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