Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Reuters NewMedia - November 23, 2005

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), which claims a million members and has organized huge protests in the past, announced it was joining activist group Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) to push for a new approach to AIDS in the country worst hit by the worldwide pandemic.

"The HIV epidemic has been permitted to go too far," COSATU said in a joint statement with the TAC and the South African Council of Churches.

"We lament the continued refusal of our national government to declare the seriousness of the HIV epidemic and to mobilize a response on the scale that is needed," the statement said.

The new campaign, to be launched on World AIDS Day on December 1, is designed to more deeply involve union groups and churches in the AIDS fight -- stepping into a breach that critics say has been left by President Thabo Mbeki's government.

COSATU said that union activities over the next year, including its traditional May Day demonstrations and September national congress, would focus on HIV/AIDS and the need to boost both treatment and prevention.

Organizers plan a national conference in March 2006 to agree an HIV/AIDS plan independent of the government, and will press employers to provide both HIV information and drugs to roll back the stigma that keeps many from seeking treatment.

Echoing calls by the TAC, the groups will also demand that South Africa enroll at least 200,000 AIDS patients for state anti-retroviral drug treatment by 2006.

Officials say just over 70,000 people are now receiving drug treatment at state facilities.

COSATU's call marked the latest effort by AIDS activists to revitalize the fight against the disease in South Africa, where more than 5 million of the 45 million population are believed to be infected with HIV -- the highest caseload in the world.

AIDS activists led by the TAC have criticized the government for its response to the epidemic, saying it sends mixed messages about AIDS and has moved too slowly to provide the life-prolonging drugs.

COSATU's leadership has also become increasingly vocal in its criticism of Mbeki on AIDS, one of a number of issues causing turmoil within the political alliance that defeated apartheid.

Its general-secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi, in September accused Mbeki of "betraying the struggle" on AIDS -- provoking a sharp response from the Health Ministry which said he did not understand much about AIDS or the government's response to it.

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