iClinic - July 13, 2000
Marjolein Harvey
Cape public service doctor and PAC member Costa Gazi. Speaking at the conference on Wednesday, Gazi added, that "even though [Mbeki] does not say that HIV does not cause AIDS, all his comments point in that direction."
Gazi maintains that government is shirking its responsibility to pregnant women by not providing basic services to the country's 1.2 million mothers a year or screening for HIV and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) for HIV-positive mothers.
"Whether you test with or without treatment available, it is an empowering tool for women, and the issue is that it should be available for those who wish to make use of it and should be a precursor to offering antiretrovirals," he said.
He added that quality counselling should be offered and that together with voluntary HIV testing, this was a powerful health education tool. "If you educate a woman, you educate a nation", is the African saying he echoed.
The problem in SA is not a lack of resources, but gross inequality, Gazi argues. The government's growth, employment and redistribution strategy (GEAR) is responsible for reductions in healthcare spending and insufficient funds, he says.
Demanding voluntary counselling and testing is a way of putting pressure on government to provide AZT and nevirapine to prevent MTCT, he believes.
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