Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2009. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - March 29, 2009
Claire Keeton
Sefularo was speaking at a round-table discussion on HIV/Aids for six political party leaders - COPE failed to pitch up - and an expert panel in Johannesburg this week.
Sefularo was responding to panel member Mark Heywood, deputy chairman of the South African National Aids Council, who said: "The antiretroviral treatment programme is buckling."
The Soul City Institute for Health and Development Communication and the Sunday Times organised the discussion.
Sefularo said: "We will look at wastage. For example, we will not trade off antiretrovirals for a satellite broadcasting office in New York or a pebble-bed (nuclear reactor) costing a lot. There will be fewer parties with freebies and caps."
He added that the Global Fund to Fight Aids, tuberculosis and malaria was expected to help with funding and the government would increase the capacity to produce drugs locally.
The four panel members slammed the parties' election manifestos for having only brief policy statements on HIV/Aids.
Dr Sue Goldstein, a Soul City senior executive, said: "Only one party has more ... that is the IFP. This is an indictment."
About one in 12 public servants is on antiretrovirals, said Democratic Alliance health spokes man Sandy Kalyan, referring to statistics from the public service medical aid Polmed.
Activist Pholokgolo Ramothwala, who has HIV, called on MPs with HIV to lead by being open about their status.
IFP president Mangosuthu Buthelezi called for the destigmatisation of HIV, saying that was why he had revealed that he had lost two of his children to Aids back in 2004.
The use of herbs and other traditional remedies to fight HIV/Aids was also high on the agenda. Most vocal was Azapo deputy president Pandelani Nefolovhodwe.
Aids specialist Dr Ashraf Coovadia responded: "It is very, very easy (to claim success) and people out there are very desperate. We have in our hands the most effective treatment, and that is antiretrovirals. I'm not excluding herbs but they must go through the same (testing)."
Sefularo was equally clear that antiretrovirals were the only proven treatment.
The use of condoms in schools and the decriminalisation of sex work were raised.
Sefularo said that the ANC had not pronounced on condoms in schools - contradicting education minister Naledi Pandor's personal opposition to them.
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