Issued by the Ministry of Health
4 April 2002
This morning the Constitutional Court issued an interim order concerning the provision of Nevirapine in government health services in the period until there is an outcome in the main Constitutional Court case on this issue (to be heard on May 2 and 3). Government respects and accepts this judgement.
The order of the court specifically points out that government is not required to undertake "the wholesale extension" of the Nevirapine programme. What we are expected to do is to enable the drug to be prescribed to HIV-positive pregnant women and their babies:
In consultation with provinces, we are developing a circular that will be sent to all public health facilities. Our intention is to ensure that facility managers and health professionals in antenatal clinics are in a position to respond appropriately to this latest development.
The Task Team that is currently being constituted to guide the further development of the programme on mother-to-child transmission will now take on the additional role of communicating and monitoring actions taken as a consequence of today's order.
Government is striving for a comprehensive approach to ensure that women receive appropriate advice on breastfeeding, in line with our national protocols. We have an over-riding concern to ensure that affected women are in a position to make an informed choice abut this programme.
Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang
Minister of Health