Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
South African Press Association (Johannesburg) - August 13, 2003
At the end of its plenary assembly in Mariannhill outside Durban on Wednesday, however, the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference (SACBC) warned that logistical problems should not be allowed to slow down the roll-out of the drugs programme.
The Cabinet has asked the Department of Health to draw up a comprehensive operational plan by the end of September 2003, for the anti-retroviral therapy programme in state hospitals and clinics.
"If carried out in full, this would represent a critical step in bringing hope and relief to great numbers of people affected by the pandemic, and in easing the burden on health personnel who are working in stressful conditions in hospitals and clinics," the SACBC said in a statement.
"Logistical considerations, and the necessary support infrastructure for such a comprehensive plan are indeed challenges to be faced. But these cannot be allowed to further delay our response as a nation to those most in need of ARV therapy," the bishops said.
The week-long conference, which brought together 28 bishops from South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland, ended on Wednesday. The 28 bishops represent about 4,5-million Catholics in these three countries.
The bishops urged all sectors of society to work together in implementing the programme and called on the government to provide "effective and sustained leadership" in the months ahead.
They also called on the government to finance the many "effective" community-based programmes already fighting the pandemic and called for better partnerships between the state and other agencies such as churches, to share resources, experience and expertise.
"We have our greatest resource available now in the many highly committed people and groups already involved in practical responses to the pandemic."
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