South African Press Association (Johannesburg) - July 11, 2002

Mark Heywood, the director of the AIDS Law Project, told a press conference in Barcelona on Thursday: "The R720-million grant for the Enhancing Care Initiative of KwaZulu-Natal was on the back of a well thought-out proposal for prevention, care and treatment. The Ministry of Health, and the Minister of Health (Manto Tshabalala Msimang), in particular, is trying to block that grant. It is extremely urgent that this situation be resolved quickly."

The deadline for acceptance which has to be made by governments on behalf of submitting parties is within two weeks. Heywood added: "It is not beyond the rules of possibility that we will take this to court. This situation is about saving lives."

Graca Machel, wife of former president Nelson Mandela, said in a speech opening the 14th International Aids Conference on Thursday said: "many governments continue to be unclear about support for care and, hesitant, if not fatalistic about enabling increased access to treatment".

"Our governments must design and implement strategies that are as comprehensive as the virus itself. We must have prevention, and a continuum of care and treatment within one paradigm. Having interventions that focus solely on specific health aspects of HIV-Aids in a vacuum will not work, because the virus does not work in a vacuum."

The KwaZulu-Natal proposal for funding was submitted under the auspices of the Enhancing Care Initiative of the University of Natal, and is the only one of four from South Africa that fulfilled all these criteria, and was praised by the Global Fund for accomplishing this.

In March this year, governments around the world submitted applications for funding to combat Aids to the Global Fund. At the last minute KwaZulu-Natal was asked by national government to withdraw its application. When it attempted to do so, the Global Fund ignored the request and later hailed it as one of the most exciting it had received.

In April, the UN announced successful candidates and South Africa was awarded R1,13-billion for proposals from Love Life and Soul City. A separate proposal from the Enhancing Care Initiative in KwaZulu-Natal was awarded R720-million.

Part of the application by national government was not successful. It was invited to submit a revised proposal during the second round of application on September 27.

The KwaZulu-Natal application has a strong focus on prevention, care and treatment in contrast to the Department of Health's focus on prevention alone.

Government is not attempting to block the Love Life and Soul City funds, but has created controversy behind closed doors at the Barcelona conference by delaying its approval of the funds to KwaZulu-Natal without which funds cannot be released by the UN Global Fund.

UNAids director Peter Piot earlier this week said governments that block funding to care and treatment projects may in future be bypassed, with funding going to civil society instead, "as happened under apartheid".

Umesh Lalloo and Robert Pawinski, co-leaders of the KwaZulu-Natal Global Fund proposal said although they were taken aback by the TAC's announcement, "we are not surprised by this response from civil society. Protracted delays are leading to speculation and loss of life through delays in accessing funds and implementation. Our project supplements the Provincial Aids Action Units strategy for the province, bringing in a unique collaboration of academia, government, business and civil society".

There has been criticism at the conference about the lack of involvement of business in the fight against Aids. The KwaZulu-Natal proposal brings in substantial financial commitments from businesses.

The project, if endorsed by government and allowed to obtain its funds, will begin dispensing anti-retroviral triple therapy. It is expected that health care workers will be among the first recipients of the therapy.

The KwaZulu-Natal team is also obliged by the Global Fund to assist other provinces and Southern African Development Community countries to write proposals for the next round of Global Fund applications set for 27 September.

Global Fund donors are concerned that Southern Africa, the area of the world with the highest infection rate has not yet designed sufficient programmes to access increased funding.

The Global Fund is a product of the United Nations General Assembly hearings into Aids last year.

KwaZulu-Natal is one of the sites the Global Fund highlighted as one of the most innovative and with the greatest potential to bring the South African government to the forefront of the global fight against HIV-Aids.

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