OWN CORRESPONDENT, Durban | Wednesday
PHARMACEUTICAL companies are fuelling the myth that anti-retroviral drugs are the only way forward in the fight against HIV/Aids because “they have a vested interest in doing so”, says Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.
Speaking at the launch of the South African Mayors’ Chapter Launch on HIV/Aids, Tshabalala-Msimang said there was an impression that until governments provided anti-retrovirals such as AZT and Nevirapine, whatever else they did came to naught.
“Today I want to dispel this myth, because it is absolutely not true. The pharmaceutical industry and those who have a vested interest in the drug industry fuels this propaganda.”
She said many poor countries in the developing world, including Uganda and countries within the Southern African Development Community, successfully addressed the disease “without necessarily implementing a large scale anti-retroviral programme.
“Most of these countries have implemented basic public awareness programmes and the treatment of opportunistic diseases. From the Ugandan experience with Aids, we learnt that government alone, cannot overcome the fight against HIV and Aids. Hence we have established the SA National Aids Council.”
Tshabalala-Msimang is at the forefront of justifying the government’s controversial decision not to supply anti-retrovirals to HIV positive pregnant mothers who are dependent on state medical services. The drugs can prevent the transfer of the disease to unborn babies and has been approved by the World Health Organisation.
Government claims the effects of drugs such as AZT and Nevirapine are not fully known and it could therefore not supply it to pregnant mothers.
South Africa has the fastest growing HIV infection rate in the world, with an estimated 8 million people living with the disease. About 5000 HIV-positive babies are born in the country annually.
According to the UN an estimated 24,5 million people in sub-Saharan Africa now lived with Aids. By the end of 1999 more than a million African children were estimated to be infected with the disease. Close to 12 million children have lost their mothers due to the disease.