Aids is key, warns Zackie

2003-08-06 12:43

Durban - An effective Aids policy is the key to an ANC success in next year's election, says Treatment Action Campaign head Zackie Achmat.

Speaking after a briefing by the health ministry at the Aids conference in Durban, Achmat said Aids had become a deeply political issue in South Africa.

"I am an ANC (African National Congress) member and I can tell you that the ANC will do itself enormous harm if it does not have a treatment plan in place by next year's election," he said.

"Aids has become a political issue, because everyone who is infected needs access to anti-Aids drugs."

"The reason South Africa cannot move forward is that President Thabo Mbeki and the health minister (Manto Tshabalala-Msimang) are HIV denialists," Achmat said in reference to Mbeki's stated belief that factors other than HIV could lead to Aids.

In the past week, the government has come under heavy criticism for failing to roll out a national plan to help people with Aids and for choosing to focus on "nutritious diets" as a way to fight the disease for those infected.

In an editorial on Wednesday, Die Burger carried a front-page editorial calling for an end to the government's "insanity" with Aids.

"It is the strongest form of protest available to us to express the concern and disapproval of our editorial staff and our readers over the government's handling of the crisis," said editor Arrie Rossouw.

- AFP