Speech by the Acting Premier of the Northern Cape, Ms Grizelda Cjiekella on the occasion of the World AIDS Day commemoration in Ritchie, Frances Baard District – Northern Cape, 01 December 2012

Programme Director
Speaker of the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature
Members of the Provincial Legislature
Members of the Executive Council
Chairperson and Members of the Provincial Portfolio Committee on Health
Honorable Mayors, Speakers and Councilors of District and Local Municipalities
Members of the Provincial and District AIDS and Health Councils
Esteemed guests
Representatives from all the different community, non-governmental and religious institutions, organizations and structures across the province
Ladies and Gentlemen

I am greatly honoured to welcome you here today in keeping the candle of hope and compassion burning and as well as the promise that we have made that we will defeat HIV and AIDS. Today as we celebrate World AIDS Day under the theme: “PATH to Zero New Infections” we renew our pledge and commitment as government and civil society to refocus our energy and resources towards the fight against HIV and AIDS.

The theme encourages everyone to take personal and collective responsibility to stop new HIV infections, provide care and support to those living with HIV and to ensure access to treatment for all people in need.

HIV/AIDS has been with us for three decades, but continues to be a problem whose solution continues to elude us all. We are making some progress in understanding this challenge, but we still have a long way to go.

The face of HIV/AIDS in South Africa has become more complex over the past 30 years. We are no longer dealing with awareness, but with people who are faced with the reality of living with the disease, the vast majority of whom are undiagnosed and do not know their HIV status.

Overhauling of the national health system has been identified by government as a key aspect which will assist government in attaining our health priorities. A ten point plan for the health sector has been drawn up and among these priorities is the accelerated implementation of the HIV and AIDS strategic plan, the need to address the co-infection of TB/HIV and to increase governments’ focus on the high burden of the disease.

President Jacob Zuma in his State of the Nation Address stated that: “We have also identified critical social infrastructure projects. These include projects aimed at laying the basis for the National Health Insurance system such as the refurbishment of hospitals and nurses’ homes”.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the National Strategic Plan (NSP) for HIV, AIDS and STI’s 20012-2016 forms part of Government’s aim to address social and structural barriers to HIV, STI and TB preventions. It further aims to prevent new STIs and TB infections as well as to sustain health and wellness, and increase protection of human rights and improve access to justice.

Poverty is one of the major contributors to poor health through food insecurity, which in turn is linked to HIV and TB acquisition and poor treatment adherence, so Government and its partners will make every

effort to ensure food security for all. Government has already launched an integrated anti-poverty strategy that involves various Government

departments, which have specific responsibilities to ensure that vulnerable households are identified and supported. Child-headed and youth-headed households are also prioritised to ensure that needs,

such as food, shelter and access to health and social services, are fast-tracked.

More importantly, the Millennium Development Goals provide the common global vision to carry out dedicated actions that will ensure that we meet those and other goals in improving our response mechanisms.

With the present National Strategic Plan (NSP) and Provincial Strategic Plan (PSP) for 2012-2016 I am confident that we are ready to build on the above achievements. Once again our strength lies in our unity.

Ladies and Gentlemen, in the next five years our key strategic objectives include the following:

- Addressing social and structural barriers that increase vulnerability to HIV, STI and TB infection;
?- Preventing new HIV, TB and STI infections;
?- Sustaining health and wellness; and
?- Increasing protection of human rights and improving access to justice.

Let us once again join hands as we deepen and strengthen our response and seek innovative ways to sustain our interventions over the short, medium and long-term.

Let us also bear in mind that all our efforts contribute to the global vision of an AIDS-free world. This vision is attainable; let us continue to strive towards it.

In addition to our health professionals, especially the nurses who do extraordinary work under challenging conditions in caring for patients suffering from HIV infections and TB, we want to recognize the Home Based Care workers across the province. We, as government want to use this platform to applaud them and encourage them to continue with their good work.

The establishment of support groups by the Department of Health in collaboration with NAPWA has resulted in approximately 1300 People Living with HIV and Aids (PLHIV) receiving psychosocial support on adherence and compliance to treatment. These platforms are designed to connect people who are infected, affected and those who want to know more about the HIV and AIDS disease to help fight and eliminate stigma and discrimination. There is a significant reduction in defaulters on treatment due to interventions such as active tracing by community health workers (CHW).

With regard to Primary Health Care re-engineering, the orientation and training of community health care workers and Professional nurses as team leaders, 760 CHW’s have been trained as at March 2012 with a further 450 in this financial year 2012/13. This is in line with the Department’s vision of addressing the triple burden of disease namely maternal child mortality rate, prevention of new TB and HIV infections and to increase life expectancy.

To all HIV positive women, from 14 weeks gestation, prevention of mother to child transmission treatment is available in all public health facilities free of charge. Pregnant women are encouraged to book early before 20 weeks. The target to initial pregnant women on ART is 60% but we managed to reach 81%.

Poly-emerase Chain Reaction- HIV Test for Babies (PCR) is done at six weeks for HIV exposed babies, however; the Provincial PCR target is 6.5% and the actual tests done amounted to 2.1% because there were less cases of HIV exposed babies born. Government has trained nurses on pediatric ART to make it possible for mother and child to receive treatment at the same health facility.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Department of Health conducts an annual Antenatal Survey for HIV and AIDS as a methodology to track HIV and Syphilis prevalence in the country. Based on its 2011 analysis, by the end of 2011, 11.4 million South Africans had responded to the President’s call, by undergoing HIV counselling, with 9.7 million people agreeing to be tested for HIV.

Through epidemiological surveillance, the HIV epidemic in South Africa has in the last 7 years shown stabilization, particularly among antenatal care first time bookers, in the public health sector clinics.

The province that recorded the highest HIV rates was KwaZulu-Natal. The Northern Cape and Western Cape recorded the lowest prevalence.

The main health challenges we face as a country are TB and HIV/AIDS. TB is one of the major killers in our country despite the fact that TB is curable. It is reported that some people deliberately do not want to take their medication or attend to their follow-up sessions. They don’t want to be cured because they want to benefit from the temporary disability grant.

When we speak about TB it is important that we also speak about HIV and AIDS. We know that there is a close link between HIV and TB. This does not mean that every person who has TB is HIV positive. But if you are HIV positive you are very likely to have TB. However even in this case TB can be cured, it only means that you must take your medication.

The Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) programme of the Department of Health presents a huge opportunity for us to arrest vertical transmission of HIV from the mother to the baby. We encourage mothers to access the services at the antenatal clinic as well as VCT services provided to ensure we do all we can for the health of the baby and the mother.

It is our responsibility to take care of our health and that of our loved ones. As a province and a country we must join hands in the fight against HIV and AIDS to ensure future generations have the opportunity to live full and healthy lives.

Programme Director, we are at present in the midst of celebrating an important international and national campaign, namely the 16 Days of Activism of No violence against Women and Children, under the theme: “From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World-Lets challenge Militarism and End Violence Against Women”.

During this time, the South African Government runs a 16 Days of Activism Campaign to make people aware of the negative impact of violence on women and children and to act against abuse. Government is committed to building a caring and peaceful society that protects its women and children from all forms of violence. The 16 Days of Activism Campaign runs only from 25 November to 10 December every year, but its objectives are reinforced by the year-long 365 Days Programme and a national plan. Every year, government, civil-society organisations and the business sector work together to broaden the impact of the campaign. By supporting this campaign, thousands of South Africans have also helped to increase awareness of abuse and build support for victims and survivors of abuse.

As government, we call on you as a citizen and community member to support the programme by wearing the white ribbon during the 16-day period: A white ribbon is a symbol of peace and symbolises the commitment of the wearer to never commit or condone violence against women and children. You could also join the Cyber Dialogues initiative which facilitates online discussions among people about issues related to the abuse of women and children, participate in the various 16 Days of Activism events and activities in your communities, volunteer in support of non-governmental organisations and community groups who support abused women and children, donate money to organisations working to end violence against women and children by making a contribution to the Foundation for Human Rights, speak out against woman and child abuse and join community policing forums (CPFs) or community safety forums (CSFs).

Ladies and Gentlemen, we also extend a message of gratitude and encouragement to the members of the Provincial and District AIDS Councils across the province. Thank you for accepting the challenge and the responsibilities and it is now your responsibility to ensure that we as a province, deliver on the health service delivery mandate of government in line with the legal and constitutional framework. The whole province has high expectations and I truly hope and anticipate that the whole province also give these councils the necessary support to productively and actively be the vehicle to address HIV and AIDS challenges in the province.

As the Northern Cape Provincial Government we embrace this opportunity to wish all a safe and joyful festive season that is free of violence, crime and road accidents.

In conclusion, we would like to encourage and implore all to support government and civil society programmes and initiatives in our collective fight against HIV, AIDS, TB as well as violence against women and children. The Government is taking responsibility to make sure that everyone tests for HIV, receives counseling, that condoms are available and that all people have access to treatment for TB and HIV. Let us keep our promise to defeat these diseases in order to create communities that are healthy, positive and productive.

I thank you
Ke aleboga!!
Ndiyabulela!
Baie Dankie!