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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRETORIA 002640 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA STRONGLY SUPPORTS WORLD AIDS DAY 
 
PRETORIA 00002640  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary:  The South African Government (SAG) 
strongly supported World AIDS Day 2008, in contrast to its 
lackluster support in previous years.  South Africa's Deputy 
President and Chair of the South African National AIDS 
Council (SANAC) and SANAC Deputy Chair requested all South 
Africans to participate in a 15-minute work and school 
stoppage to focus on the prevention and treatment of HIV and 
AIDS.  At a televised event that took place on World AIDS Day 
on December 1 at the Sahara Stadium in Durban, the Deputy 
President renewed the SAG's commitment to preventing the 
spread of HIV and AIDS among all groups of people, and 
announced a campaign to prevent mother-to-child transmission. 
 The Minister of Health also addressed the nation, urging 
government, business, unions, and individuals to take a 
united stand to fight the spread of HIV and AIDS, and 
stressing optimism in the face of obstacles.  The Minister of 
Health and the Deputy President encouraged South Africans to 
reflect on their personal responsibility to combat the 
disease and to care for the people who are affected by the 
disease.  End Summary. 
 
-------------------------- 
CONFRONTING THE STATISTICS 
-------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  South Africa has the largest number of 
HIV-infected individuals in the world, with 5.7 million 
people living with HIV.  The national HIV prevalence rate 
among adults (ages 15-49) is 18.1 percent.  There were also 
an estimated 1.4 million AIDS orphans at the end of 2007. 
Former President Thabo Mbeki denied that HIV caused AIDS, and 
his controversial former Health Minister Dr. Mantobazana 
Tshabalala-Msimang was dubbed "Dr. Beetroot" for proposing 
that lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and beets be used to 
treat HIV.  A new study by Harvard University estimates that 
the SAG could have prevented the premature deaths of 365,000 
people between 2000 and 2005 if it had provided 
antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to AIDS patients and HIV-positive 
pregnant women instead of denying the relationship between 
HIV and AIDS. 
 
--------------------------- 
UNITY IN FIGHT AGAINST AIDS 
--------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  The centerpiece of World AIDS Day in South Africa 
was a national event at the Sahara Stadium in Durban.  Deputy 
President Baleka Mbete lit a unity candle at noon on December 
¶1.  She and SANAC Deputy Chair Mark Heywood requested the 
nation to observe a minute of silence and then a 15-minute 
work stoppage to focus on the prevention and treatment of HIV 
and AIDS.  The Deputy President and Minister of Health 
Barbara Hogan addressed the nation.  The Deputy President and 
the Minister of Health were joined on the dais by the 
Executive Director of UNAIDS, Peter Piot, and a person living 
with AIDS.  Members of government, civil society, the 
business community, and labor unions were also gathered at 
the stadium to demonstrate a united commitment to the fight 
against HIV and AIDS.  Several radio and television stations 
around the country covered the event and other World AIDS Day 
activities. 
 
------------------------------ 
THE SAG "WILL SPARE NO EFFORT" 
------------------------------ 
 
¶4.  (U)  The Deputy President renewed the SAG's commitment to 
prevent the transmission of HIV and AIDS.  She stated that 
the SAG's goal is to reduce new HIV infections by 50 percent 
Qthe SAG's goal is to reduce new HIV infections by 50 percent 
by 2011.  "Government will spare no effort" in the struggle, 
she proclaimed.  Mbete announced that HIV-positive mothers 
and mothers-to-be should enroll in the SAG's new Prevention 
of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) Campaign program to 
receive ARVs.  She highlighted the plight of children 
orphaned by AIDS and emphasized the community's role in 
taking care of AIDS orphans and households headed by 
children.  She exhorted HIV-positive parents to test their 
children at a young age, and encouraged people to protect and 
nurture children who live in homes with HIV-positive family 
members.  The children must be allowed to finish school, 
Mbete remarked, because the future depends upon them.  Mbete 
also reminded women that they have a right to ask their 
partners for HIV tests to protect themselves and to decide 
when to have children. 
 
PRETORIA 00002640  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Mbete listed some of the strides South Africa has 
made in its effort to stem the spread of HIV and AIDS.  She 
noted that South Africa has the largest ARV treatment program 
in the world, distributes free male and female condoms 
throughout the country, and has many community and home care 
programs available to the general public.  The only way to 
beat the epidemic, she said, is to take personal 
responsibility and to commit to "ubuntu" or national unity in 
the fight against HIV and AIDS. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
SOUTH AFRICANS MUST LEAD RESPONSE TO EPIDEMIC 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  The Minister of Health stressed the gravity and 
mixed emotions of observing World AIDS Day, noting that she 
and members of the crowd gathered with a sense of "purpose, 
sorrow, and optimism."  She warned against being discouraged 
by the magnitude of the challenges presented by infection, 
illness, and death and stressed long-term commitment and 
individual leadership in the fight against HIV and AIDS. 
Hogan announced that the SAG needs the help of every person 
in South Africa to rebuild the health system and underscored 
her request for individual responsibility and participation 
by asking the men in the audience to stand up to show their 
commitment to getting tested for HIV. 
 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  Hogan also relayed a story about an 8-year-old 
Eastern Cape child who overcame tuberculosis only to be 
felled by AIDS, and lamented that at the time of his death he 
was on a waiting list for ARVs.  She pledged that the SAG 
will expand PMTCT programs and prevention for all groups, 
including marginalized groups like homosexual men and sex 
workers.  Her comments on expansion of prevention programs 
for marginalized groups drew applause from the audience in 
the stadium. 
 
------------------------------------- 
THE SAG IS SERIOUS ABOUT HIV AND AIDS 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (U) Comment:  President Kgalema Motlanthe replaced the 
controversial Health Minister Dr. Mantobazana 
Tshabalala-Msimang ("Dr. Beetroot") with Barbara Hogan on the 
first day of his presidency.  At the time, many wondered if 
the SAG was finally ready to acknowledge the realities of 
South Africa's health crisis and the depth of the toll HIV 
and AIDS had taken on the country.  The first-of-its-kind 
work stoppage during the World AIDS Day observance and the 
high-level encouragement to discuss personal responsibility 
and involvement in combating HIV and AIDS reflects the new 
government's seriousness in battling HIV and AIDS.  The USG 
invests a great deal of resources in fighting AIDS in South 
Africa through the PEPFAR program, but has not always had 
full SAG support for the program.  The SAG's renewed 
commitment should contribute to a fuller, more productive 
working relationship in the effort to prevent the spread of 
HIV and AIDS and care for and treat those living with the 
diseases. 
 
 
BOST