Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) - April 22, 2005
Nawaal Deane
MCC registrar Humphrey Zokufa said the council's inspectors were investigating the foundation's claims. If they were found to be false, action would be taken to prevent it from operating in South Africa.
This week the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) threatened the MCC with legal action for failing to take a public stance on the efficacy of anti-retroviral drugs and for not acting against the Rath foundation for its claims "that anti-retroviral drugs should not be taken and that multivitamins are a treatment for HIV/Aids".
Zokufa said: "It is a concern that the debate has become polarised [between advocates of anti-retrovirals and advocates of vitamins]. Our view is that a comprehensive approach is needed."
He said vitamins did contribute to health and were provided as part of the package to people with HIV and Aids. At the same time, anti-retrovirals were registered subject to carrying health warnings about their toxicity and side-effects. "But if Rath is claiming vitamins should be used instead of anti-retroviral drugs, that is incorrect."
At a media conference this week, the TAC accused Rath of peddling high doses of vitamins in Cape Town's black townships and "conducting unauthorised, unethical and dangerous experiments on people with HIV". However, at a Durban conference two weeks ago Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang backed Rath's views on the role of micronutrients in combating Aids. Some observers fear the TAC and the government are on a collision course, despite the fact that both support the goal of rolling out a comprehensive treatment plan.
Next week a judge will hear a TAC plea for an urgent interdict against allegedly defamatory statements by the Rath foundation, which claim the Aids lobby group is funded by pharmaceutical firms and the Soros Foundation.
The Rath foundation's representative, Anthony Brink, will argue that it should not be deprived of the right to free expression and robust participation in a debate of public interest. In court papers Brink says contentious questions about Aids have been elevated "from a matter of public health to one of national politics ... elements in the media desire [the foundation's] voices to be silenced and arguments stifled".
The TAC believes Rath is using smear tactics to further its commercial interests. An affidavit from TAC leader Zackie Achmat argues that the right of free expression does not include the right to defame others. "If Rath did not attack the integrity of TAC [we] would not have brought this application ... A sustained campaign of slander and incitement by the respondents misuses the vulnerability of people with HIV/Aids and undermines our work and reputation."
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