Pretoria | Monday
The Pretoria High Court on Monday ordered the government to provide nevirapine to HIV-positive pregnant women at state facilities with the capacity for testing and counselling, pending an appeal to the Constitutional Court.
In December last year, Judge Chris Botha granted an application brought by the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) paediatrician Dr Haroon Saloojee of the Save Our Babies campaign and the Children’s Rights Centre for an order that nevirapine should be made available at state facilities outside the government’s 18 designated pilot sites.
On Monday, Botha granted the government permission to ask the Constitutional Court to consider an appeal against the order.
He also granted the TAC’s application that the government should meanwhile make nevirapine available for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV at state facilities with the capacity to test for the virus and to counsel women before testing.
TAC supporters cheered and applauded the decision in court.
Mark Heywood of the TAC called on the government not to appeal Botha’s order. ”It will save lives if the government doesn’t appeal this,” he told reporters outside court.
Saloojee said it was a great victory for the autonomy of health professionals.
Health Ministry representative Sibani Mngadi said the minister and MECs would consider their options, including a possible appeal.
Even at the 18 research sites there were problems despite all the support mechanisms, Mngadi said.
”If he says we should implement without support mechanisms, it is a matter of concern.”
Meanwhile, the Eastern Cape’s acting health MEC said it would be irresponsible for government to distribute nevirapine as though it were ”fish and chips”.
Max Mamase told an HIV/Aids conference on Friday that the ‘side effects of the drug are unknown… it would therefore be irresponsible to continue dishing out nevirapine as though it were Simba chips or fish chips,” he told the conference at the Fish River Sun outside Port Alfred.
However, the statement was in stark contrast to an earlier announcement by premier Makhenkesi Stofile that nevirapine would be made available at all public hospitals and clinics simultaneously.
Mamase said on Friday the government was still testing the drug’s efficacy, side-effects and cost-effectiveness.
He said the results from both the Eastern Cape’s testing sites would only be available from August.
The MEC also said that a healthy diet could allow a person with HIV to live for ”10, 15 or even 20 years”.
Some conference delegates said they found Mamase’s speech ”disappointing”.
”It was a private rave in which he was clearly trying to justify why the provincial government is backing off its commitment to provide nevirapine to HIV-positive mothers,” said one delegate who asked not to be named.
The conference, titled ”Leaders In Action Against HIV/Aids,” was organised by the Eastern Cape legislature in conjunction with the European Parliamentarians for Africa. – Sapa