SABC drops Aids documentary
2009-11-17 09:41
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.
Cape Town - Former president Thabo Mbeki was directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people because he delayed making anti-retroviral medicine available in state hospitals.
Some of this medicine was offered free of charge to the state.
This is the conclusion reached by a documentary programme and will be broadcast on Tuesday night on 3rd Degree on e.tv.
Too controversial
The programme was initially made for SABC's Special Assignment, but the corporation apparently decided that the allegations against Mbeki were too controversial and even unfounded.
The Price of Denial looks at the price South Africa is still paying for Mbeki's policy of denial about HIV/Aids.
It shows, amongst others, how thousands of babies were unnecessarily infected with the virus even though pharmaceutical companies had offered nevirapine free of charge to the state.
The programme also told the story of raped children, who by order of government were not given anti-retroviral medicine.
It posed the question if there was any way in which the government could now make up for the damage that people still suffer.
The programme was initially produced by Health-e News Service for the SABC. It quoted a Harvard University study, which claimed that more than 330 000 South Africans died unnecessarily during the years of Mbeki's policy of denial.
Two months to decide
News heads at the SABC took two months to decide whether they would broadcast the documentary or not. Health-e News Service withdrew the programme from the SABC and offered it to e.tv.
Beeld learned that the SABC was "concerned" about the allegations and even felt that they were unfair.
Mbeki refused to take part in the programme or to give comment.
According to the programme, more than 70 000 children were born each year with HIV in the first years of the Mbeki government. Government was able to get nevirapine for free but Mbeki refused as it was apparently toxic.
Even after Cabinet approved a countrywide introduction of anti-retroviral medicine, Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, Mbeki's minister of health, dragged her feet with the implementation of the policy and continued to rather promote a controversial diet of garlic, olive oil and beetroot.
The executive director of 3rd Degree, Debora Patta, said The Price of Denial raised important questions around a decade of denial and quackery.
The SABC had not commented by late on Monday night.
Did not refuse
- Health e-news later stated that the SABC did not refuse to air the documentary.
"They took a long time to decide whether they wanted it. They never gave us a reason why," Health-e managing editor Kerry Cullinan told Sapa.
- Beeld