TAC woman calls on UN for action rather empty promises
June 1, By Sapa, Cape Argus
South Africa- South African woman has become the first person living with HIV to address the UN General Assembly, urging countries to action rather than "empty promises" in the global fight against Aids.
Speaking in the opening session of the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV and Aids (Ungass) yesterday, Nkhensani Mavasa, 27, made a special appeal to the governments of African countries, where women make up 77% of new infections.
"I call on African leaders sitting here to protect and promote the human rights of all people in vulnerable groups, particularly women and girls," said Mavasa, the deputy chairwoman of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC). "We ask you do not fail us yet again."
Mavasa addressed the conference as a representative of the International Women's Health Organisation after the TAC had declined an invitation to be part of the formal South African delegation.
The TAC turned down the invitation after the government intially refused to allow them and the Aids Law Project to join the delegation.
The TAC's Sipho Mthathi was billed to speak yesterday, at a massive street protest to mark the 25th anniversary of the first Aids diagnoses. Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang also addressed a roundtable discussion at the UN.
Sub-Saharan Africa is home to two-thirds of all people living with HIV. The UN meeting of 10 heads of state and government, as well as 80 cabinet ministers, aims to adopt a blueprint to reach the goal of "universal access" to Aids care and prevention by 2010.
Mavasa told the assembly: "Your big task now is making sure this ... is not a document of empty promises, not a mere restatement of principle, but a platform for target based action. I ask that as you deliberate over the next two days, you'll be guided by the pain and hope which sits in our hearts as people of the world."
General Assembly president Jan Eliasson said Mavasa had brought the reality of HIV/Aids into the hall: "If we multiply her face, multiply, multiply, multiply we might get a slight notion of what this all means."
Yesterday the Health Ministry commended Mavasa's address.
Spokesman Sibani Mngadi said Mavasa had highlighted the challenges of poverty and the work being done in South Africa to make HIV treatment available."
She acknowledged that efforts have been made in her home town in Limpopo, as well as in other parts of South Africa to make the HIV/Aids prevention, care and treatment programme available," said Mngadi.
He said that Mavasa had contradicted a statement by TAC chairman Zackie Achmat that the government had lied to the UN about its treatment programme."
The spirit of her statement ... was in contrast to an unbecoming behaviour of TAC chairman, Zackie Achmat, during the TAC march in Pretoria on Tuesday."
During the march Achmat said the government had lied that South Africa had the biggest treatment programme in the world. "
The truth is that we have the biggest need in the world and we are not meeting that need," Achmat said.
Meanwhile, Tshabalala-Msimang told a roundtable discussion that she was pleased that prevention was at the centre of discussions at the conference.
She urged Ungass to build from commitments made in 2001, the ministry said in a statement."
The 2001 declaration on HIV/Aids acknowledges prevention as the mainstay of the response and recognises that poverty, underdevelopment and illiteracy are among the contributing factors to the spread of HIV," Tshabalala-Msimang said.
She said some of the challenges faced in the prevention of HIV/Aids included sustainable financing of programmes, overcoming the stigma and discrimination and a shortage of health workers. Governments and civil society should be encouraged to work together to overcome these challenges, Tshabalala-Msimang said.
In a statement from her spokeswoman, Charity Bhengu, the minister specified five focus areas for the South African delegation during discussions.
One was: "The importance of prevention, and the need to use various strategies and not be limited to a medical model approach which focuses on ARVs only."
The other areas were:
Poverty and status of women in society.
Challenges presented by vertical interventions when the health system as a whole wais weak.
The importance of food security as well as nutritional supplementation.
The importance for countries to determine their own strategies linked to their own "peculiarities".
South Africa- South African woman has become the first person living with HIV to address the UN General Assembly, urging countries to action rather than "empty promises" in the global fight against Aids.
Speaking in the opening session of the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV and Aids (Ungass) yesterday, Nkhensani Mavasa, 27, made a special appeal to the governments of African countries, where women make up 77% of new infections.
"I call on African leaders sitting here to protect and promote the human rights of all people in vulnerable groups, particularly women and girls," said Mavasa, the deputy chairwoman of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC). "We ask you do not fail us yet again."
Mavasa addressed the conference as a representative of the International Women's Health Organisation after the TAC had declined an invitation to be part of the formal South African delegation.
The TAC turned down the invitation after the government intially refused to allow them and the Aids Law Project to join the delegation.
The TAC's Sipho Mthathi was billed to speak yesterday, at a massive street protest to mark the 25th anniversary of the first Aids diagnoses. Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang also addressed a roundtable discussion at the UN.
Sub-Saharan Africa is home to two-thirds of all people living with HIV. The UN meeting of 10 heads of state and government, as well as 80 cabinet ministers, aims to adopt a blueprint to reach the goal of "universal access" to Aids care and prevention by 2010.
Mavasa told the assembly: "Your big task now is making sure this ... is not a document of empty promises, not a mere restatement of principle, but a platform for target based action. I ask that as you deliberate over the next two days, you'll be guided by the pain and hope which sits in our hearts as people of the world."
General Assembly president Jan Eliasson said Mavasa had brought the reality of HIV/Aids into the hall: "If we multiply her face, multiply, multiply, multiply we might get a slight notion of what this all means."
Yesterday the Health Ministry commended Mavasa's address.
Spokesman Sibani Mngadi said Mavasa had highlighted the challenges of poverty and the work being done in South Africa to make HIV treatment available."
She acknowledged that efforts have been made in her home town in Limpopo, as well as in other parts of South Africa to make the HIV/Aids prevention, care and treatment programme available," said Mngadi.
He said that Mavasa had contradicted a statement by TAC chairman Zackie Achmat that the government had lied to the UN about its treatment programme."
The spirit of her statement ... was in contrast to an unbecoming behaviour of TAC chairman, Zackie Achmat, during the TAC march in Pretoria on Tuesday."
During the march Achmat said the government had lied that South Africa had the biggest treatment programme in the world. "
The truth is that we have the biggest need in the world and we are not meeting that need," Achmat said.
Meanwhile, Tshabalala-Msimang told a roundtable discussion that she was pleased that prevention was at the centre of discussions at the conference.
She urged Ungass to build from commitments made in 2001, the ministry said in a statement."
The 2001 declaration on HIV/Aids acknowledges prevention as the mainstay of the response and recognises that poverty, underdevelopment and illiteracy are among the contributing factors to the spread of HIV," Tshabalala-Msimang said.
She said some of the challenges faced in the prevention of HIV/Aids included sustainable financing of programmes, overcoming the stigma and discrimination and a shortage of health workers. Governments and civil society should be encouraged to work together to overcome these challenges, Tshabalala-Msimang said.
In a statement from her spokeswoman, Charity Bhengu, the minister specified five focus areas for the South African delegation during discussions.
One was: "The importance of prevention, and the need to use various strategies and not be limited to a medical model approach which focuses on ARVs only."
The other areas were:
Poverty and status of women in society.
Challenges presented by vertical interventions when the health system as a whole wais weak.
The importance of food security as well as nutritional supplementation.
The importance for countries to determine their own strategies linked to their own "peculiarities".
posted by AIDS-Care-Watch at 3:10 pm
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