Andy Duffy
A senior commander in the government’s fight against HIV and Aids is to step down. Rose Smart, the former nurse who revived the HIV/Aids and STD (sexually transmitted diseases) Directorate following the Sarafina II scandal, wants to leave in November when her contract expires.
“It is a 12-hour day, seven-days-a-week job. I don’t think it’s possible for me to sustain that level of commitment. It’s been a great strain,” she said.
Her decision drew a mixed response from NGOs and state health officials. “The past two years have been incredibly bland,” says one official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “But we’re not sure how much she’s been able to do. The minister rarely takes advice from anyone.”
The directorate’s achievements to date are not immediately obvious. The rate of HIV infections continues to climb, and the directorate is only now adequately staffed.
Observers believe Smart’s relationship with Zuma was defined just weeks into her tenure. Zuma arranged a Cabinet audience for the founders of the controversial Aids drug Virodene to seek funding. She briefed Smart months later, in January 1997, after the meeting had been announced to the press.
Smart says there have been no problems with Zuma or former director general Olive Shisana. She says she will stay in the Aids field, and “has left the door open” should the department fail to find a suitable replacement.