Aids lobby group the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) is to take the Department of Health to court on Thursday for allegedly obstructing its attempts to obtain information on government targets for the roll-out of anti-retroviral drugs.
TAC deputy national chairperson Sipho Mthathi said on Tuesday the department has led the public to believe that it had compiled a document setting out targets and timetables for the roll-out.
This would have been added to the government’s Comprehensive Plan for the Management, Care and Treatment of HIV and Aids, adopted by the Cabinet last November.
But the TAC has been trying to get hold of the document since February, to no avail, Mthathi said. It wants to use the document to measure the government’s progress.
When the government was not forthcoming, the group lodged an application under the Access to Information Act in the Pretoria High Court in July, which the department indicated in August it would oppose.
The TAC will now seek punitive costs from the department for allegedly obstructing its efforts to get hold of the document.
”They wasted our time as well as human lives by not explaining what was going on. They need to answer to the public and give the people information,” Mthathi said.
The matter is to be heard in the Pretoria High Court.
The Department of Health said in a statement that the document being sought was never adopted by the Cabinet and was therefore not an official government document.
”However, the TAC insists that the department use taxpayers’ money to compensate the organisation for legal costs incurred,” it said.
”It is regrettable that the limited resources earmarked for improving the health of all South Africans, including people living with HIV and Aids, have to be spent on resolving this matter in the High Court.”
Mthathi said if the department has not adopted a roll-out timetable and targets, the TAC will seek to ensure that it does. It will be prepared to go to court again.
The department said it is proud of progress made in putting the roll-out plan in place, despite various challenges. Condom distribution has increased, and campaigns to encourage abstinence and faithfulness are in full swing.
Regarding treatment, 50 of the 53 earmarked districts countrywide have at least one service point, the department said. A total of 102 health facilities are providing services aimed at mitigating the impact of HIV/Aids, including anti-retroviral therapy.
”The department remains committed to implementing this plan aimed at curbing the spread of HIV infection and to strengthen the health system to ensure that quality health care is provided to all those who are infected and affected by HIV and Aids,” the department said. — Sapa