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) - July 12, 2002
On Thursday this week, the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) threatened to bring an urgent court application to "stop the government from blocking" the UN grant.
Mark Heywood, the director of the AIDS Law Project, told a press conference in Barcelona: "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 (South African) ministry of health, and the minister of health, in particular, is trying to block that grant. It is extremely urgent that this situation be resolved quickly."
The deadline for acceptance, which had to be made by governments on behalf of submitting parties, was within two weeks.
Heywood said it was "not beyond the rules of possibility" that the matter would go to court.
"This situation is about saving lives," he said.
Tshabalala-Msimang's spokesman, Sibani Mngadi, could not be reached for comment on Friday, but the SABC quoted him as having denied the ministry was trying to block the grant.
The KwaZulu-Natal team had "applied directly to the Global Fund instead of going through government, the business sector and civil society, before the application was approved".
The minister had "briefed representatives of the Global Fund in Barcelona that the matter is being attended to and that it will be resolved as soon as possible", Mngadi reportedly said.
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.
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 Aids conference by delaying its approval of the funds to KwaZulu-Natal, without which funds cannot be released by the UN Global Fund.
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
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