Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
South African Press Association - May 5, 2005
"As a country and as South Africans we really have been vindicated in this regard. We are what we eat, and we are what we drink," she said at a Parliamentary monitoring and evaluation briefing.
Tshabalala-Msimang was echoing President Thabo Mbeki when he announced at the Aids Africa Summit in Indonesia recently that the World Health Organisation had also found that nutrition played a vital role in dealing with the HIV/Aids pandemic.
She said she would refuse to be "pressured" into increasing the anti-retroviral rollout to meet the target of three million patients on ARVs by 2005.
She said that target had been decided on by a group of international bodies without consulting South Africa on the feasibility of the target.
"And now that the target won't be met they want to make South Africa the scapegoat," she said.
She said the ARV rollout is not about chasing numbers but about the quality of healthcare.
"South Africa is playing its part within the resources available to it," she said, arguing that one could not just do a blanket rollout because individuals had to be monitored.
"What is good for Europe must be good for Africa. Just because Africa has fewer resources does not mean regulatory precautions should be ignored," she said.
Tshabalala-Msimang said people have ignored the importance of nutrition and stated vehemently that she will continue to warn patients of the side effects of anti-retrovirals.
"Nobody will stop me from doing that. It's correct and proper," she said.
She said she had always felt it was her responsibility to inform Aids patients that they have three options -- to improve nutrition, take micronutrients or enrol in the ARV programme.
But she said she lacked detailed information on how effective the ARVs were. She said she will be holding meetings on Friday to try to establish how many people were on the government's ARV programme, how many had fallen out of it and how many had died as a result of the side effects.
According to a report, the ARV programme has 139 health facilities in 52 health districts providing comprehensive HIV/Aids services.
The report said that 42 367 patients were on anti-retroviral treatment.
But Tshabalala-Msimang questioned these figures, saying she had not been informed of how the numbers were reached.
She again emphasised the importance of healthy eating, stating that it would boost the immune system even if patients were on ARV.
"Raw garlic and a skin of the lemon -- not only do they give you a beautiful face and skin but they also protect you from disease," she said, adding that beetroot was also a vital ingredient in any diet.
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