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9 October 2004

Programme Director
The Minister of Health, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang
Minister of Environmental Affairs, Marthinus Van Schalkwyk
Minister of Public Works, Nkosazana Stella Sigcau
MECs of Health of Gauteng and Western Cape
Members of the South African National Aids Council and all sectors represented
The Community of Randfontein
Fellow South Africans

Six years ago, the Partnership against AIDS was launched by the then Deputy President Thabo Mbeki on the 9th of October.

On that day, a call was made to all South Africans to join hands to fight against AIDS.

For the first time representatives from various sectors such as business, labour, media, youth organisations, women groups, non-governmental organisations, the sports fraternity, the entertainment industry and others came together to make a declaration.

They pledged to:
* Use every opportunity to discuss the issue of HIV and AIDS openly and to work to de-stigmatise it;
* Work together to care for those living with the virus and for the children orphaned as a result of AIDS;
* Pool their material and mental resources to support those infected and affected by the disease, and to continue searching for a vaccine and a cure; and
* To work together in the fight against HIV and AIDS.

Today we are gathered to recommit ourselves to this declaration and its implementation.

As we recommit ourselves, we are aware that we today meet during a different period to that on which the declaration was made. The epidemic has become more real over the past few years. Many among us here would know someone who has either succumbed to the disease or who is living with the virus. Therefore, we are all affected by HIV and AIDS and are living with it.

This means we now have greater responsibilities of providing support and care, and of working to de-stigmatise the disease and fight discrimination against people living with it and their families.

If people are scared to disclose their HIV positive status, they cannot seek medical help, or obtain emotional support. Let us all recommit ourselves to fighting the stigma and to promote positive attitudes towards those living with the virus and their families. They need our love and support.

The reality of AIDS necessitates more than ever before, the active involvement of all sectors, from national, provincial to local level in the Partnership against AIDS.
The partnership, embodied in the South African National Aids Council, gives us optimism, as we know that if we work together, we will be making inroads in seeking to arrest the spread of the disease, manage its impact and provide support to those who are infected and affected.

Over the last few years we have seen the growth of the partnership and the development of various civil society sectors across the country. These include Faith Organisations in HIV and AIDS Partnership, Women in Partnership against AIDS, Men in Partnership against AIDS, Traditional Healers, Traditional leaders, the Trucking Industry, Health Professionals, Trade Unions, Business and the Disabled Community.

The Partnership against AIDS theme for this year is "Respect Our Women and Protect Our Children." Women and children are particularly vulnerable to the impact of HIV and AIDS.

In 1995, South Africa ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which committed South Africa to implementing a "first call for children". The African Children's Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child was ratified in January 2000. This makes the needs of children paramount throughout the government's development strategies.

The HIV and AIDS pandemic provide a serious challenge to the optimal realisation of children's rights in our country. Family life and household composition have profoundly been changed by HIV and AIDS. Caring for sick family members and ongoing economic activities now fall increasingly to the elderly and very young children.

Children orphaned by AIDS face not only the trauma of losing their parents, but also the likelihood of poverty at the loss of a breadwinner.

They also face the challenge of becoming breadwinners themselves, having to find ways of earning money to raise their siblings.

Social security remains an important focus because a significant number of children come from families living in poverty conditions and social grants remain the only means of income.

Since 1994 government has sought to respond to these challenges through policy and legislative reform, for example the development of the National Integrated Plan for Children Infected and Affected by HIV and AIDS.

The three key components of the plan are the Life Skills Program, Voluntary Counselling and Testing, as well as home and community based care and support.

While we do our bit as government, partnerships with communities and the civil sector remain of paramount importance. Already many organisations are working to support children in distress, and we applaud them for doing this.

We are also aware of great number of teachers who support infected school children, especially in primary schools. They ensure that the children take their medication in school, take them to clinics to treat opportunistic infections, and play a very positive role in their lives. We applaud the actions of these public servants, they are truly exemplary.

With regards to women, we reiterate that the unequal relations between men and women still disadvantage women. The inequities make women vulnerable, as many are dependent on male partners economically and socially.

In line with the ‘Men Make a Difference' theme of last year, the Campaign places the spotlight on the many ways in which men contribute to spreading HIV and AIDS, and also focuses on the powerful roles they can also play in combating it.

We must hasten to add that the theme is not aimed at negatively stereotyping South African men, but is a positive message aimed at mobilising men to increase their role in combating the spread of the disease.

Fellow South Africans, the major strength of the partnership initiative lies in the recognition that no single person, sector, department or organisation can make an impact working alone.

The power to defeat the spread of HIV and AIDS lies in collective action.

Ladies and gentlemen, I said earlier that we have now come face to face with the epidemic. We are therefore one step ahead in that we are steadily moving away from the era of doubt, fear, denial and ignorance.

However there is also a danger that this first-hand knowledge of the disease may lead to complacency, and to people taking AIDS for granted as a "given", something that will happen at some time or other in their lives, that they will just have to live with.

That would be dangerous. We should remain as vigilant and as determined to stop the spread of HIV and AIDS as we were when we did not know a single person who had succumbed to the disease.

It is important for us to arm ourselves with knowledge on how not to contract HIV, and if we are already infected, we should seek knowledge of how to live positively with it.

The message of prevention still remains important, Abstain, Be Faithful or Use a Condom. With regards to young people, we advocate abstinence until you are old enough to understand the seriousness of relationships.

After all is said and done, the responsibility for preventing infections and the spread of the disease rests mainly with each individual. The government or any other sector cannot force you to take responsible action.

Let us work together to take the battle against HIV and AIDS to the next level. Our future depends on the responsible action we take today.

Let us strengthen the Partnership against Aids. Collective action is strength.

I thank you.

Enquiries: Zanele Mngadi
Cell: 082 781 9332

Issued by: The Presidency
9 October 2004
Source: SAPA