HEALTH MINISTER OUT OF TOUCH

August 15, 2006

STATEMENT ISSUED BY:

DR. RUTH RABINOWITZ

IFP SPOKESPERSON FOR HEALTH


Dr. Ruth Rabinowitz, the IFP spokesperson for Health, has responded strongly to the recent events that took place at the 16th International AIDS Conference in Toronto.

Dr. Rabinowitz said:

"Clearly the Minister of Health is out of touch with the real state of HIV in South Africa. She deflects attention from our failures by highlighting her healthy lifestyle option, which would be a valid, useful support if the fundamentals of treatment were sound.

She has little to contribute to the world debate partly because methods for collecting and collating current statistics are so poor, and partly due to the politicisation of AIDS in South Africa.

The number of sites accredited for HIV treatment is no indication of the number of people on treatment, the patients resistant to treatment, children orphaned due to AIDS or the number of child headed households."

Further, Dr. Ruth Rabinowitz said: "Bill and Melinda Gates must be applauded for their contribution. If they offered IT to improve tracking of patients, assessment of protocols and evidence of resistance, their money would make an even greater impact.

The IFP commends PEPFAR for its stand on prevention: one third spent on promoting abstinence. Previously the abstinence message was cited as one of the reasons for Uganda's success. If anything weakening that message has fuelled the latest deterioration in that country. In South Africa the Abstinence, Be faithful and Condomise (ABC) message has had no impact and the epidemic grows apace.

Here and in the rest of the world, a change in focus from HIV to management of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI's) would impact dramatically on the epidemic. The presence of STI's increases the chances of HIV infection at least three fold. STI's are less insidious, less subject to myths (such as that raping a virgin offers protection), and are easy to treat. Yet, the rate of resistance to Gonorrhoea has increased dramatically in Africa and Genital Herpes has reached epidemic proportions world wide."

Dr. Ruth Rabinowitz concluded by saying: "Treatment of these infections should be the focus of our Minister, the WHO and the PEPFAR, long before beetroots, garlic and traditional medicine, or the setting of unrealistic goals."


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

Dr. Ruth Rabinowitz: 082 579 3698

Noleen Hendricks: 082 886 9848