In a newspaper interview on 23 April, President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa said that the South African government has failed to communicate its message on HIV effectively. He also called on all South Africans to “take responsibility” for their health regarding HIV. Further, it has been revealed that officials from South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), have been in discussions to stop so-called AIDS-dissidents, who deny the link between HIV and AIDS, using President Mbeki’s name as a supporter of their views.
Coming within a week of a cabinet meeting which authorised the provision of antiretrovirals to rape survivors, and nevirapine to pregnant women, the president’s interview and the ANC’s discussions are being taken as further evidence that Mbeki’s stance that HIV does not cause AIDS has become unsustainable.
In an interview with South African Independent Newspapers President Mbeki said that it was “critically important that I ... communicate correct messages" on HIV.
President Mbeki urged all South Africans to take personal responsibility for their health saying: “You can't be going around having hugely promiscuous sex all over the place and hope that you won't be affected by something or the other.” Later in the interview he referred to the importance of treating potentially fatal illnesses, such as tuberculosis, which are often indicative of HIV. However, he failed to acknowledge that immune damage caused by HIV was the reason for a person developing the illness in the first place.
In recent months Mbeki has become increasingly isolated due to his stance that the link between HIV and AIDS is not proven. The majority of South Africa’s provincial governments have now commenced (or are planning to), nevirapine programmes for HIV-positive pregnant women and the South African High Court has ordered the national government to do likewise. Although the government has launched an appeal, it was ordered to make nevirapine available in the mean time. In last week’s statement on HIV, the cabinet seemed to accept the inevitability that it would have to accept mother-to-baby prevention programmes. It stated that it was planning to make nevirapine available on a “roll out” basis from December, pending the outcome of a government sponsored safety and feasibility trial.
ANC officials are concerned that President Mbeki’s association with AIDS dissidents, such as Peter Duesburg, is damaging South Africa’s international reputation, and have let it be known that discussions are underway as to how the President can be distanced from them. The activities of former ANC youth leader Peter Mokaba, who has appeared on platforms with leading AIDS dissidents and has called nevirapine a “poison” are to be reined in. However, opposition politicians are concerned that the ANC’s actions do not go far enough and are calling on Mbeki to remove those who deny the link between HIV and AIDS from the presidential advisory panel on AIDS.
In neither the cabinet statement last week or in Mbeki’s press interview yesterday, was there a formal admission that HIV causes AIDS. Last week’s cabinet statement said that government policy would be based on the “premise” that this was the case.