Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is to pay a birthday visit to Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, the Department of Health said on Monday.
Tshabalala-Msimang is spending her 66th birthday in the private Folateng section of the Johannesburg Hospital after suffering from a lung infection.
The deputy president was expected to wish the minister a happy birthday and a speedy recovery on Monday evening, said department spokesperson Sibane Mgnadi.
Mlambo-Ngcuka recently stepped in to take a more active role in the fight against HIV/Aids, where the minister of health has been accused of falling short. She was appointed to be the spokesperson on the pandemic by the newly formed inter-ministerial committee on HIV/Aids.
Mgnadi said the minister had already been visited by first lady Zanele Mbeki, provincial ministers of health from various provinces and other dignitaries.
”On behalf of the minister of health, we would like to express our appreciation to all those who have sent messages of support and wished Minister Tshabalala-Msimang well during this period,” he said.
The minister’s condition is steadily improving though she is expected to stay in the hospital for a few more days. — Sapa