Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) congress-goers wildly cheered the Treatment Action Campaign’s (TAC) Zackie Achmat on Tuesday when he called for the removal from office of South African Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.
Achmat spoke shortly after Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who called for a partnership between government and civil society to fight Aids, which she acknowledged is a major cause of death and illness in society.
But Achmat — wearing an HIV-positive T-shirt — said bluntly to the deputy president: ”Our government has failed us. We must speak the truth. We are willing to work with you [government] any time. You have ignored our letters. You have not spoken to us but we are ready to talk.”
Taking up the theme of the need for the South African National Aids Council (Sanac) to achieve efficient implementation of the national Aids-fight plan emphasised by Mlambo-Ngcuka earlier, Achmat said: ”We want Sanac to work on the basis of law, not on the whim of the minister [of health]. We want a report every week to our president on the number of people who are infected [with Aids] and how many people are on treatment.”
The crowd roared approval in contrast to a muted reception given to Mlambo-Ngcuka.
Tshabalala-Msimang has come under fire for her response to Aids campaigns seeking efficient roll-out of antiretrovirals. She has particularly come under fire for her emphasis on nutrition, including the use of garlic, lemons and beetroot to fight HIV/Aids.
Mlambo-Ngcuka emphasises Aids partnership
The need for partnership between government and civil society — including Cosatu — to fight Aids is critical, Mlambo-Ngcuka told delegates to the conference earlier on Tuesday.
Taking a tough stance on Aids — including emphasising that the government acknowledges ”that HIV causes Aids” — the deputy president said the sharp increase over the past eight years in the number of deaths from non-violent causes among young adults (25 to 34 years old) ”confirmed again in the latest report by Statistics South Africa on mortality statistics is plausibly explained only by an increase in Aids-related deaths”.
”The impact of the pandemic is showing itself on both mortality and morbidity. The number of child-headed and granny headed households is a big challenge that we cannot ignore,” said the deputy president.
Her remarks stand in strong contrast to the emphasis placed on good nutrition by Tshabalala Msimang.
The deputy president strongly appealed to Cosatu to work with the government to ensure that the government’s Aids-fight strategy works, noting that the ”national multi-sectoral strategy … is currently under review”.
Mlambo-Ngcuka, however, said the approach to the review of the plan was adopted by Sanac in May this year ”where it was agreed that its fundamentals are still relevant and there is therefore no need for any new approach”.
However, it was agreed at Sanac that all sectors would present reports on progress with the implementation of the strategy and make recommendations on how to best enhance it. She said it is still based on prevention, treatment care and support, legal and human rights.
In contrast to the roaring welcome given to her predecessor Jacob Zuma on Monday, there was just muted clapping at the end of Mlambo-Ngcuka’s speech.
”We cannot afford the luxury of not working together to make this plan work.
”We need to tackle the factors that are helping make the impact of HIV and Aids so severe in Southern Africa. Socio-economic factors, unequal gender relations that put women at risk, unprotected and unsafe sex, lifestyle and stigma … these and others play a part in the extent and severity of HIV infection across our society and the progression of its impact.”
Earlier, Cosatu president Willie Madisha announced a civil society partnership with the TAC and the South African Council of Churches.
At the start of the second day of the Cosatu national congress, Cosatu president Willie Madisha said the partnership will engage with the government with the intention of influencing the renewal of the Aids strategy that is being forged.
Mlambo-Ngcuka and Achmat were among those who earlier held candles as a symbol of those who had died of Aids.
Madisha said the aim should be to achieve antiretroviral roll out to 800 000 South Africans by 2008. He called for a moment of silence to remember ”the hundreds of thousands of people” who have died of Aids around the world.
The Cosatu congress at Midrand is in its second of four days. — I-Net Bridge