Contentious Political Debate

He has said that he does not know anyone who has died of Aids and has argued against the provision of AIDS drugs in South Africa, saying that they are dangerously toxic and questioning whether HIV or poverty is the true cause of AIDS. Yet he is the President of South Africa, a country where it is estimated that over 5 million people are infected with HIV. In fact, it wasn’t until August 2003 that Thabo Mbeki’s government acceded to two long accepted facts across the globe: that HIV causes AIDS, and that anti-retroviral drugs can retard the progress of the disease.

When the South African government finally announced its Operational Plan for Comprehensive Treatment and Care for HIV and AIDS on November 19, 2003, it signaled a major victory for the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), in particular its co-founder, Zackie Achmat, who had refused to take antiretroviral therapy while his fellow South Africans did not have affordable access to them. TAC was launched on International Human Rights Day in December 1998, to campaign for greater access to treatment for all South Africans, by raising public awareness and understanding about issues surrounding the availability, affordability and use of HIV treatments.

For a chronology on HIV/AIDS in South Africa, click here.

Antiretroviral Therapy

Antiretroviral drugs inhibit the replication of HIV. The drugs are not curative, however continued use of drugs, particularly in multi-drug regimens, HIV replication and immune deterioration can be delayed, and survival and quality of life improved.

For more information consult the WHO website.

The Free State

The Free State is the third largest of the 9 South African provinces, yet its population of 2.7 million is the second lowest in the country. The main languages spoken are Sesotho and Afrikaans. The province borders six other provinces as well as the Kingdom of Lesotho. Its capital, Bloemfontein, has a well-established institutional, educational and administrative infrastructure and houses the Supreme Court of Appeal. The Province has a well-known university and many other training institutions.

For more consult the following:
Free State Provincial Government
Free State Department of Health

System Leakages

System leakage is 'petty' corruption that takes place on a broad scale in many countries. System leakage can be motivated by acts of omission of by acts of commission. The effects of system leakage on the health system include decreased coverage, decreased effectiveness, decreased efficiency and decreased public confidence. Acts of omission include carelessness and lack of concern for clients, while acts of commission include personal use of public facilities for private objectives – in other words, treating public resources as one’s own. It is this kind of chronic fraudulence that limits the efficient and equitable delivery of health care entitlements and widens the gap between the goals of government health reform and the way people experience the health services.