Important note: Information in this article was accurate in September 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Enough is enough: South African activists demand “fire Manto”
HIV Treat Bull - Vol. 7, No. 7/8, September 2006
Throughout the conference activists from the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) demanded that their government “Fire Manto” Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, their nonsense-talking Minister of Health.
TAC activists briefly occupied the South African booth (that they were later accused of trashing which would not have been unreasonable under the circumstances) that, with cruel irony, displayed garlic, lemon and African potato but typically no antiretrovirals.
Their frustrating struggle has not gone unnoticed by the international community, both at the conference and beyond. Stephen Lewis made his position very clear in his closing address: “South Africa is the unkindest cut of all. It is the only country in Africa, amongst all the countries I have traversed in the last five years, whose government is still obtuse, dilatory and negligent about rolling out treatment. It is the only country in Africa whose government continues to propound theories more worthy of a lunatic fringe than of a concerned and compassionate state. Between six and eight hundred people a day die of AIDS in South Africa. The government has a lot to atone for. I’m of the opinion that they can never achieve redemption.”
As did Mark Weinberg: “We went to the Durban meeting, expecting a South African government that would be on the same side as us. Instead, we found a denialist president who turned his back on us... and who began to convene committees that would articulate on his behalf that somehow it was in dispute whether or not HIV was truly the cause of AIDS ... We were all completely taken aback, we were all insulted. ... I for one am no longer prepared to take a back seat as a scientist and not express my personal concern that this situation seems to have continued unabated.”
And on 4 September 2006 a letter was sent to South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki from over 80 leading HIV scientists “to support and endorse Dr Wainberg’s words.”
They write: “To deny that HIV causes AIDS is farcical in the face of the scientific evidence; to promote ineffective, immoral policies on HIV/AIDS endangers lives; to have as Health Minister a person who now has no international respect is an embarrassment to the South African government. We therefore call for the immediate removal of Dr Tshabalala-Msimang as Minister of Health, and for an end to the disastrous, pseudo-scientific policies that have characterised the South African Government’s response to HIV/AIDS.”
TAC, which launched protests against the health minister last month welcomed the letter and continue to step up their national campaign for a united and rational South African response to AIDS.
TAC have asked for international support for their campaign. In the UK we can get involved or make donations through the
aidstruth.org - Letter to South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki
2006-09-10
IB060709-04
©2008. I-BASE HIV Treatment Bulletin. Permission to reproduce courtesy of HIV i-Base, Third Floor East, Thrale House, 44-46 Southwark Street, London SE1 1UN - T: +44 (0) 20 7407 8488 F: +44 (0) 20 7407 8489
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bridgestone/Firestone Charitable Trust, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2008. 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, 2008. 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.