Fewer pregnant women HIV+
2007-06-07 21:35
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Special Report
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned governments against using the economic crisis as an excuse to cut funding for fighting Aids.
Cape Town - There has been a "significant" drop in the prevalence of HIV among pregnant women attending public health clinics, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said on Thursday.
Opening debate on her department's budget vote in the National Assembly, she told MPs this was mainly due to government's focus on prevention.
"With respect to HIV and Aids, I am happy to announce that the 2006 ante-natal survey results show a statistically significant decrease in the prevalence of HIV amongst pregnant women who use public health facilities.
"This is mainly as a result of our continued focus on prevention as the mainstay of our response to combat HIV and lead to an HIV-free society."
Tshabalala-Msimang did not include figures related to this decrease in her speech.
On the prevention side, however, she said more than 439 million male and three million female condoms had been distributed by the health department during the past financial year.
Plans to recruit North African doctors
On tuberculosis, she said the disease "remains a major challenge", but said efforts to control malaria had gone well.
"A total of 4 404 malaria cases were reported between June [last year] and April, compared to 11 246 cases reported for the period June 2005 to April 2006," she said.
Over the same period, the number of deaths from malaria had dropped from 88 to 31.
On the skills crisis plaguing the health sector, she announced plans to recruit doctors from North Africa.
"Co-operation with Tunisia is going to enable us to recruit from a pool of 2 000 doctors available in that country for foreign recruitment. We already have doctors from Iran working in the country."
Condemn industrial action
Turning to the public service strike, which has seen disruptions at hospitals around South Africa, Tshabalala-Msimang condemned actions that threatened patients.
"We fully agree on the need for health workers to be paid a decent and competitive wage. However, we condemn any industrial action that jeopardises the lives and well-being of patients."
On emergency medical services (EMS) in South Africa, she said the department would increase the number of aircraft and ambulances, but again offered no figures in this regard.
A national EMS plan had been developed for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, and "we are confident that with the right levels of investment in this area, as well as in hospitals in the host cities, we will be ready for any eventuality that may occur during the [event]."
On her department's hospital revitalisation programme, she said four hospitals would be completed during the course of this year. These included Mamelodi Hospital in Gauteng, Worcester Hospital in the Western Cape, Rietvlei Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, and Barkley West Hospital in the Northern Cape.
Tshabalala-Msimang was warmly welcomed by the House on her second day back at work, after three months off recovering from a liver transplant.
She told members she had returned "well, re-energised and committed".
- SAPA