Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
South African Press Association (Johannesburg) - April 17, 2002
"I cannot help but being a bit sceptical about the announcement," Pan Africanist Congress MP Patricia de Lille told Sapa.
"They have not announced any time frames... it might take another two years for them to implement it."
De Lille welcomed the fact that the government "finally accepted the conventional view" that anti-retrovirals could be used to save lives.
"But I don't want to praise them now and then it turns out differently later. We know them by now. We will just have to watch and monitor them," she said. United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa said the announcement was long overdue.
"It is a shame that Cabinet had to be forced to implement issues affecting the lives of innocent people. It looks like the court decision was a wake-up call to them," he said.
The Pretoria High Court earlier this year issued an execution order, forcing the government to provide anti-retrovirals to HIV-positive pregnant women in state hospitals with the capacity to do so.
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang announced on Wednesday afternoon that the government would also provide nevirapine to sexual assault victims. She told reporters after a Cabinet meeting in Pretoria that a protocol in this regard would be finalised as soon as possible. Two more Cabinet ministers have also been appointed to the presidential Aids task team.
Democratic Alliance health spokeswoman Sandy Kalyan said the government missed a valuable opportunity to announce it would drop its Constitutional Court action, appealing the Pretoria High Court ruling in December last year.
"Furthermore, the addition of two new ministers must be seen as a vote of no confidence in the health minister.
"The announcement that rape survivors will be receiving treatment is certainly a welcome one, but without the provision of milk powder any child of an HIV-positive mother will be doomed," she said.
New National Party health spokesman Kobus Gous welcomed the government's decision.
"Our policy has always been that everything possible should be done to prevent the spread of HIV/Aids -- be it among babies, rape victims or any other person who had come into contact with the virus.
"Our only hope is that the new policy be put in place very soon," he said. The Treatment Action Campaign said it was clear that some reason was beginning to prevail within the government about Aids.
TAC chairman Zackie Achmat told Sapa his organisation "warmly applauds Cabinet's decision".
It was good news for many survivors of sexual assault, particularly women and children.
"It is clear that some reason is beginning to prevail... This is a victory for civil society and the Department of Health, and it creates an area of consensus for us to move forward," he said.
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