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The courage displayed by South African women when confronted with the most vicious form of racism and oppression saw us through our liberation struggle and fortified us against all the adversities that we met in the way.

We drew inspiration and strength from their fierce determination and extra-ordinary zeal. Women were our rock of strength and could not be moved.

So, as we gather today, to celebrate the contribution of women in our society, we should turn our attention to those challenges that still lie ahead in our path. We also need to remember the contribution that women are making in the present, particularly with regards to the health of our nation and dealing with the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Our continent's mothers, sisters and grandmothers continue to spend countless hours caring for the sick and dying. Diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and HIV/AIDS continue to claim the lives of our people, exacerbated by the environment and conditions they live in.

Added to this are the increasing levels of violence in our society, including violence against women and children, which puts even more pressure on all of us to pull our resources and work together to end these problems. Sexual violence also has a bearing on the HIV infection levels, in relation to rape.

With regards to HIV/AIDS, we all know that as in most human miseries, women bear the brunt of the disease. The women-men infection ratio is 2 to 1 according to the Human Sciences Research Council. Women find themselves in an awkward position where their choices are either limited or non-existent for a number of reasons.

Due to the socio-economic conditions in the country, most women are dependent on men economically and culturally. This makes them powerless in situations where they have to negotiate safer sex or no sex at all.

I would therefore like to call upon men to take up the fight against Aids and not treat it as a women's problem only. Women alone cannot beat this disease; it requires that we work together, as partners. Men need to begin to respect their partners and heed their call for safer sex. Love needs to be accompanied by responsibility and respect.

While noting the challenges, we also need to acknowledge the gains we have made in the fight against HIV/AIDS. One can say with some authority that the majority of South Africans know about the disease. Such a high level of awareness is of critical importance for the next phases and other areas of work in the fight against HIV/AIDS. We have to work even harder and raise the awareness levels and make sure it goes beyond the 90s and reaches 100%.

Today, we need to salute those women who have worked tirelessly at home and in various formations to spread the message to the youth. We urge women to continue this fight and unite to ensure that the future generations become
Aids-free.

It is a fact that good home and family life as well as cohesive functional community institutions is vital for our work against HIV/AIDS. Parents, community leaders, elders, women's groups, societies, izitokofela, youth organizations, schools and other institutions, the clergy, churches, synagogues, mosques, temples can all make a contribution.

Let us use these institutions to beat the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS and to work towards changing the negative attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS.

From our side as Government, we are doing all we can to deal with HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. The South African National Aids Council (SANAC), of which I am chairperson, leads a multi-sectoral strategy, which brings together 35 sectors of civil society and government, working to combat the disease at different levels.

There is a coherent five-year Strategic Plan for combating HIV/AIDS and other STDs - a framework that combines a range of interventions that have proved successful in other countries confronted with controlling the spread of the HI virus. It is a framework that accommodates the contributions of players in the non-governmental and private sector. And one that leaves room for growth - for including new interventions as their effectiveness is proven.

The strategy consists of four priority areas:
* Preventing further HIV infections, through a combination of activities.
* Treatment, care and support for those who are HIV-positive and those close to them.
* Research and monitoring, including ongoing research into an AIDS vaccine.
* Asserting the human and legal rights of all affected by HIV/AIDS.

Most South Africans will have encountered aspects of prevention strategies that aim to promote safe sexual behaviour and non-discriminatory behaviour against people living with AIDS - the advertisements and the street campaigns; the dramas on television and live at schools and hostels; the free condoms in many expected and unexpected places.

Less recognized features of the prevention strategy include ensuring easily available, good quality treatment for all sexually transmitted diseases. Our free public clinics offer really effective interventions, as the recent survey confirmed by recording a real decline in syphilis rates among pregnant women.

Prevention also includes addressing the safety of blood available for use in transfusions and expanding the services available for people to test their HIV status and to receive supportive counselling.

As Government, we are also moved by the tragedy of babies being infected with HIV at birth. In response to this, research sites to respond to the mother to child transmission problem have been established. In addition to this, Government has also developed guidelines to assist pregnant women attending clinics and hospitals to prevent mother to child transmission.

In the last year, we have developed guidelines for health workers and caregivers in order to raise the standard of care in several critical areas. We will carry this process forward through training workers to implement the guidelines.

We have also conducted an ongoing campaign on various fronts to secure medicines that are essential for the treatment of many infections that characterize AIDS. This has entailed negotiating with drug manufacturers - a process where we have chalked up one significant success - and combating drug manufacturers in court. Setting up systems for home-based care is an essential step if we are to relieve the load on our hospitals to ensure that every person in the terminal stages of AIDS has a reasonable level of comfort. Government accepts that it has a key role in coordinating and funding home-based care programmes and has placed a clear plan on the table. Its realization will, however, depend on the closest cooperation of groups and individuals in communities.

Research is perhaps the least visible of strategic priority areas, but it is funded and actively supported by government. This research covers many fronts - from the highly specialized research into AIDS vaccines, to the search for viable new approaches to treatment and care; to policy research and the kinds of surveys referred to above. South Africa's surveillance expertise is highly regarded and the World Health Organisation has adopted the antenatal survey as a model. (WHO)

Even though the statistics on infections and other aspects of HIV/AIDS are sometimes presented in ways that create hysteria, we must celebrate the fact that the majority is still HIV negative, and work to increase the resilience of those of our compatriots who are infected so that their lives are productive, enjoyable and normal. Of course, zero infection must be our ideal, with care and non-discrimination in respect of those who are infected or ill.

Let us all work together to ensure that we boost the health of our nation, and beat HIV/AIDS and all other killers in our communities.

I thank you.

Issued by The Presidency

09 August 2001