Zuma: Nutrition can't beat ARVs
2005-05-25 19:18
Special Report
The South African government has announced a joint venture to reduce the cost of anti-retroviral drugs with a Swiss company.
Cape Town - Nutrition was not a substitute for appropriate HIV/Aids treatment, said deputy president Jacob Zuma in parliament on Wednesday.
"Let me emphasise that our position is that nutrition is not a substitute for appropriate treatment, but prolongs good health and serves as a solid foundation that determines the success of other medical interventions," he told the national assembly during the president's budget vote.
He said this in stark contrast to Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang who, while never completely ruling out antiretroviral drugs, has strongly promoted the use of nutrition in the fight against the disease.
Earlier this month, Tshabalala-Msimang said the country had been vindicated with its nutritional approach to combating the HIV/Aids pandemic.
She said people had ignored the importance of nutrition, and stated vehemently that she would continue to warn patients of the side-effects of antiretrovirals.
Doesn't know the side effects of ARVs
She said she had always felt it was her responsibility to tell Aids patients they had three options - to improve nutrition, take micro nutrients or enrol in the ARV programme.
But, she said she lacked information on how negative the side-effects of the ARVs were.
Zuma, however, said that South Africa's action plan did not rely on nutrition alone, but that it was one of the pillars of the comprehensive HIV and Aids care, management, and treatment plan.
He said the pillars of the plan included prevention and enhancing the treatment of opportunistic infections, and effective management of those HIV-positive individuals who had developed Aids-defining illnesses.
"That is why nutrition was included as an important element... of the plan," he said.
The Treatment Action Campaign welcomed his statement.
"He's quite correct: nutrition is very important, but it is not a substitute for treatment," said TAC spokesperson Nathan Geffen.
"It is the government's official position, but we would like to hear it more often. We would like it to be consistent and not to be confused by the minister of health."
- SAPA