By Chiar Carter and Wendy Jasson Da Costa
Top decision-makers in government are to participate in the South African National Aids Council (Sanac), cabinet has announced. They have also endorsed "interaction with stakeholders" in the battle against HIV and Aids - including the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), the sharp critic of Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.
The announcement followed Wednesday's cabinet meeting where Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka briefed ministers on progress made by the recently established inter-ministerial committee (IMC) in resuscitating Sanac.
Mlambo-Ngcuka also briefed cabinet about the IMC's efforts in terms of government interaction with other participants in the battle against HIV and Aids.
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| 'The IMC is not a department and it will not take over' |
Cabinet agreed that government should ensure it is represented by ministers, deputy ministers and directors-general at Sanac.
"The need to raise the level of participants in Sanac to include decision-makers was endorsed," government communications head Themba Maseko told a post-cabinet briefing.
Maseko said an appeal would be made to all parties to ensure they too nominated decision-makers to participate in Sanac.
He said parliament had endorsed interaction with the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and the National Association of People living With HIV and Aids (Napwa).
The announcement comes two weeks after cabinet established the IMC to strengthen the implementation of the HIV and Aids programme - a move widely interpreted as damage control in the face of rising international and local criticism of the health minister, her department and government's "mixed messages" about the pandemic.
Maseko was at pains to emphasise that cabinet had confirmed that the health ministry, headed by Tshabalala-Msimang, would continue to lead implementation of the plan.
"Any perception that the IMC will take over implementation of the programme would be misleading as the IMC is not a department and it will not take over the implementing function from the department and the minister of health," he said.
Maseko said that to emphasise the role of the department and minister was not a question of "backtracking" and said Tshabalala-Msimang was a "key member" of the IMC and the department of health would have to implement any programme of action on HIV and Aids.
During a question-and-answer session in the National Assembly on Wednesday Mlambo-Ngcuka also emphasised that Sanac's role was not to replace the department, but to support it.
She said it was also important that the Health Department was supported in the many other tasks it has to do of which the HIV and Aids programme only formed a small portion.
Mlambo-Ngcuka said government's HIV and Aids plan was one of the most comprehensive globally and although all elements of the plan were important, prevention should be one of the cornerstones.
The Deputy President told the ministers that it was the responsibility of everyone to ensure that incorrect perceptions about government programmes were corrected.
"All of us in government and outside government, need to continuously correct any impression that government was pitting one against the other.
"We want to emphasise that nutrition, treatment, healthy lifestyle … prevention are all essential elements of this plan."
- This article was originally published on page 6 of Daily News on September 22, 2006
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