Address by the Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize, at the Opening of the 9th South African AIDS Con
Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal
11 June 2019
Programme Director
The Conference Chair, Prof Refilwe Phaswana-Mafuya
Premier of the KwaZulu-Natal, Mr Sihle Zikalala,
Ministers, Deputy Ministers and MECs present
The Mayor of eThekwini, Ms Zandile Gumede and other leaders from the local government
The UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Dr Shannon Hader,
Representatives of Multilateral and Bilateral Development Partners
SANAC Trust Board members
The Deputy Chair of SANAC and Chair of the Civil Society Forum, Ms Steve Letsike and other Civil Society Leaders
Senior Officials
Scientists, Researchers and Activists
Distinguished guests
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We meet during Youth Month, a few days before June 16th – a historic day in history of our country when thousands of young people took on the might of the apartheid regime. We salute the youth of 1976 and all young people who fought against the evils of oppression and we thank those that paid the ultimate price that they paid for our freedom.
Unfortunately, since then too many young people have succumbed to a preventable disease – HIV and AIDS! Every year for the past 9 years, South Africans gather here in the ICC to discuss ways to prevent HIV transmission as well as how to ensure that we initiate and keep people who are living with HIV on treatment.
The theme of this year’s conference is: Unprecedented Innovations and Technologies: HIV and change. Lest we forget, we have an estimated 7.1 million South Africans who are HIV positive with 4.6 million on treatment. This means that we must move rapidly to ensure that everyone living with HIV is on treatment. Equally we must ensure that those of us who are HIV negative remain negative! This needs innovation and change as the theme of this conference suggests!
For such a conference to succeed in its objectives we must have communities, especially people living with HIV tell us what is needed, researchers and scientists tell us what works and what does not work and government and its implementing partners who are implement with a great sense of compassion, passion and urgency all working together to defeat this epidemic!
This conference epitomises collaborative excellence where science, activism, government, and medicine come together in our responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and its twin - tuberculosis. This community has again come together, during this week, to rise to the enormous challenges the response to the epidemic continues to require. These include:
The eradication of stigma and discrimination around HIV and calling out the prejudice that has fuelled it;
The hard work of research and of ensuring that the research is relevant, puts the rights of people first and community voices are heard when planning and implementing the research;
And importantly to ensure that government and its partners are responsive to the epidemic and that programmes are implemented effectively, efficiently and with quality.
This conference is where we dedicate our energy to share innovative plans to end the HIV epidemic. Today, we also pay tribute to the researchers and activists who have devoted their lives to finding solutions to end AIDS as a public health threat. In addition, we are reminded of the bravery and courage of late activists like Gugu Dlamini, Nkosi Johnson, and Prudence Mabele, who fought from the front to ensure that this epidemic does not define our destiny as a country. This day also brings to memory our global icon and the first President of democratic South Africa, Tata Nelson Mandela - who fought against the discrimination of people infected with HIV and TB and rallied behind the campaign for expanding ARV treatment.
Such gatherings remind us that we need to understand the needs of the person who lacks access to information and services so that we can provide them with information and services, including key populations, the LGBTI community, rural communities and people living with disabilities. These gatherings also remind us to harness the huge potential of people living with HIV to guide the response and delivery of services and the campaign against stigma and discrimination. The day also reminds us to create platforms for young people to shape and direct the programmes that are meant to empower them to stay HIV free and for those that are infected to live longer and reach their full potential so as to contribute to the development of the country.
Although our country is applauded globally for having progressive legislation and policies that promotes access to health services, evidence has identified stigma and discrimination, including self-stigma, and the negative attitudes of healthcare workers, as key barriers to accessing HIV and TB services.
The 2014 People living with HIV Stigma Index Survey, conducted by SANAC in partnership with the National Association of People living with HIV and AIDS (NAPWA), the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC and Positive Women’s Network (PWN), found the following:
Over one-third of respondents (36%) reported experiencing some form of stigma in either their personal or social environments, including being gossiped about, experiencing verbal and physical harassment and assault.
That over one-third (36%) of respondents reported being teased, insulted or sworn at because of their TB status.
27% harboured feelings of uncleanliness or dirtiness in relation to their TB diagnosis.
It is not surprising that people are discriminated against because they have tuberculosis – even though TB is a very old disease and has been around for hundreds of years – because it is airborne and anyone can contract TB.
A more recent survey, in 2018, conducted by the University of KwaZulu-Natal also found that stigma and discrimination affected access to health care services, creating barriers to access to and adherence to ART and deterred individuals with TB from accessing services for fear of breaches of confidentiality.
Let me be clear as the newly appointed Minister of Health, stigma and discrimination has no place in the provision of health services. We will take action against any health professional that discriminates against anyone on the basis of their illness, gender orientation, social status or any other characteristic!
In addition, to address these issues and to give effect to the objectives of goal 5 of our National Strategic Plan for HIV, TB and STI 2017-2022, I am pleased to announce that we have just launched a 3-year Human Rights Plan for HIV and TB, which aims to set out a comprehensive response to human rights and gender-related barriers to HIV and TB services in South Africa for people living with HIV, people living with TB, and vulnerable and key populations. This plan will focus on the following:
1. Stigma and Discrimination reduction
2. Train health and other frontline workers to provide care that is non-discriminatory
3. Sensitize and train Law makers and law enforcement agencies
4. Campaigns that focus on legal literacy and rights
5. Strengthening legal support services
6. Monitoring, reviewing laws and policies
7. Reducing gender inequality and gender based violence
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the SANAC Human Rights and Legal Task team under the leadership of the Deputy Minister of Justice, Mr John Jeffrey for overseeing the development of this plan. In working with the Chairperson of SANAC, I will ensure that the implementation of this plan becomes a standing item in all SANAC Inter Ministerial committee meetings and in SANAC plenary meetings.
The response to the HIV and TB epidemics needs resources. We are grateful that our government is the main funder of our responses. In addition, we wish to thank the Global Fund for their support which was recently announced ($369 million over the next three years) and the President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) which will provide $730 million in funding in the 2019/20 financial year. I want to encourage everyone that benefits from these funds to ensure that the funds are used as effectively and efficiently as possible. We have to use these scarce resources to reach the target that President Ramaphosa announced in the 2018 State of the Nation Address of 6.1 million people living with HIV on treatment by December 2020! We dare not fail to achieve this target if we wish to reach epidemic control!
In closing, I would like to thank the Conference Planning Committee under the leadership of Prof Refilwe Phaswana-Mafuya for all the hard work of planning such a big conference and wish everyone fruitful deliberation over the next 3 days.
I thank you.
