Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
South African Press Association - August 17, 2006
Fran Blandy
"We want to ask the International Aids Society that the conference should justify its theme, Time to Deliver, by addressing the real problems of people who are dying while waiting for treatment," Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) general secretary Sipho Mthati told a press conference on Wednesday.
Scores of TAC members and HIV-positive people from other countries stood in the press conference holding up posters that read: "Bill Gates is not our voice" and "Face reality about HIV/Aids. People are dying, be not artificial about people's lives."
Gates and former United States president Bill Clinton have featured prominently at the conference, as both have foundations that provide funding to various Aids causes.
"We are aggrieved that this conference has been more a conference for Hollywood stars, philanthropists ... than the voice of people who are sitting at home dying of Aids," Mthati said.
She said that while the commitment shown by Gates and Clinton was appreciated, real and practical issues such as making second-line therapy available to those who need it, and the political will of governments, had not been addressed.
"If the conference ends without any of these things being addressed, then it should be declared a failure," said Mthati.
She was upset that the conference had not made a statement about the death of a Westville prison inmate in Cape Town, who was put on to anti-retroviral treatment only after two years of waiting. The prisoner was one of several who went to court demanding access to anti-retroviral treatment.
The government is appealing a decision by the Durban High Court, ordering prison authorities to provide the service.
TAC chairperson Zackie Achmat said he wanted Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang and Minister of Correctional Services Ngconde Balfour to be charged with culpable homicide.
IAS president Helene Gayle, who had not known of the prisoner's death, said Mthati had mentioned several important issues that needed to be addressed.
Mthati said Aids denialism in South Africa had taken on "some of the most perverse forms" -- either denying there is an Aids virus, or admitting it and suggesting alternative, untested choices of treatment.
She was referring to Tshabalala-Msimang's promotion of garlic, lemon and beetroot in the fight against the pandemic.
After the press conference, the group of activists weaved, chanting and dancing, through a massive crowd of delegates to the South African exhibition, which displayed the foodstuffs alongside anti-retrovirals. It was a "farce", some activists charged. "How many lemons are you going to eat when your CD4 count drops below 200?" shouted a woman.
TAC national manager Nathan Geffen clashed with exhibition organisers when he tried to remove garlic from the stand. He said the stand was the most expensive at the exhibition, adding that the money spent on it could have been used to provide the Westville prisoner with anti-retroviral treatment.
Activists lay on the ground inside the stall as a symbol of those who had died without receiving treatment. "Fire Manto now," they chanted as passers-by gathered round to see what was going on.
South Africa's Aids response was "the worst response in the world to the epidemic and not the most comprehensive", the activists maintained.
Khomanani project coordinator Karabo Moraka, who was manning the stall, said the protesters were "misguided", but it was their constitutional right to demonstrate.
060817
SA060815
Copyright © 2006 - South African Press Association. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the South African Press Association, Cotswold House, Greenacres Office Park, Cnr. Victory & Rustenburg Roads, VICTORY PARK, PO BOX 7766, JOHANNESBURG, 2000; Fax No: +27 11 782-1587/8, Tel No: +27 11 782-1600.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Elton John AIDS Foundation, National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2006. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2006. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .