ANC's HIV/Aids policy weak - KZN
2009-11-30 22:17
Special Report
The availability of the antiretroviral (ARV) tenofovir has improved in Gauteng over the past weeks, the provincial health department says following a report that some provinces were running low on ARVs.
Johannesburg - The African National Congress in KwaZulu-Natal has admitted the party has been weak in fighting HIV/Aids and had relied too heavily on government.
"As leaders of society the ANC should be seen to be playing a role in the fight against HIV/Aids," the provincial executive committee said in a statement on Monday after its monthly meeting.
The province wants the ANC to develop a "comprehensive plan" to take the fight against the disease to the "grass roots level".
"The plan should include addressing the issues of social conduct such as the abuse of alcohol which leads to our people including many of our youth to engage in unprotected sex," the committee said.
The PEC agreed that "extraordinary measures" were required to fight the pandemic, given the high prevalence in the province.
It urged people to get circumcised, but cautioned that this did not mean one was immune to HIV.
"As the ANC, we also believe that drastic action needs to be taken to ensure that everyone knows his or her status.
"As the ANC in KZN we will engage on the debate of calling on government to make it compulsory for people to test and know their status which will help in getting treatment early."
- SAPA