MINISTRY MEDIA BRIEFING
PROGRAMME OF ACTION OF THE SOCIAL SECTOR CLUSTER
5 MAY 2005.

Documents handed out:
Government’s programme of Action 2005: Social Cluster
Ms Tshabalala-Msimang’s presentation on the programme of action of the social sector cluster

SUMMARY
The Ministers presented a progress report of the 2004 Programme of Action. She focused on the programmes of the social sector cluster that were raised by President Mbeki in his State of the Nation Address 2005 as needing acceleration and strengthening. She repeated her call for people to eat garlic, olive oil and the "skin of lemon". She denied ever endorsing the Rath Foundation but said that the foundation's focus on good nutrition in fighting the disease was complementary to the government's programme against AIDS. She would not stop alerting members of the public to the side effects of antiretroviral drug therapy.

Minutes

Health Minister’s presentation
For the period under review, the government had committed itself to: examining the implications of the macro social state of research on public policy and service delivery; launching the National Social Security Agency and implementing systematic plans against corruption. It had worked very hard to finalise the definitions of disability and allocations of foster care grant. It continued its campaigns to address non-communicable and communicable diseases as well as unnatural causes of death, through the promotion of healthy life-styles and increased focus on TB, AIDS, Malaria, cholera and other waterborne diseases, and generally increasing the standard of leaving of the poorest.

Questions
A journalist asked for progress report on the development of the AIDS vaccine.

Minister Tshabalala-Msimang could not say how far the process had developed.

A journalist said that there were 42 000 people who were on Anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs). She asked if the Minister was happy with this number of people.

Minister Tshabalala-Msimang asked where the journalist got the figures. When the government was pressurised to provide ARVs, it warned that they had side effects. Nobody knew how many people had fallen off the ARV programme and how many had died due to the side effects of the drugs. It was also difficult to say how many people were still on the programme. She wondered how the figures had jumped from 28 000 to 42 000 people. The government did not want to be pressurised by the 3 million people by 2005 target set by the World Health Organisation. She would ask provinces to supply more information on the number of people who were still on the ARV programme. The government’s plan was not about chasing numbers but delivering quality service.

A journalist from Business Day asked if there was any scientific evidence indicating that there were benefits to the immune system in eating garlic, lemon and olive oil.

Minister Tshabalala-Msimang referred the journalist to the ANC Today.

A journalist from the Natal Witness asked if the investigation into the Rath Foundation had been completed. There was a concern that the claims that had been made by the Foundation flew in the face of plans to roll out state-sponsored anti-retroviral treatment to HIV patients. She wondered if the Minster was not confusing the country by endorsing Dr Rath.

The Minister replied that she did not remember endorsing the Rath Foundation. She said that all that she had been saying all along was that the provision of micro nutrients did not contradict the government’s plan. Micro nutrients and vitamins were central to the plan. It was clear that some of the basic staff sold in the shops lacked some micro nutrients. Nobody had question the move by government to fortify certain basic food stuffs. The Minister would continue to advise people on the side serious effects of ARVs. It was important to note that ARVs were new to many people and most people knew little about them. The government should educate people on the side effects of ARVs. Many people took multi vitamins in the morning but complained when the Minister of Health informed the public about their importance.

A journalist asked why the Minister had never said anything about the benefits of ARVs. She wondered if the side effects far outweighed the benefits.

The Minster replied that ARVs did not cure AIDS and had serious side effects. Some people were able to stand up and function well if they were on ARVs. Nutrients did not have side effects. It was incorrect to say that the Minister had never spoken about the benefits of ARVs.

A journalist asked for more information on the social health insurance plan.

Mr Mseleku replied that the social health insurance policy was a commitment that was undertaken long time ago. It was seen as a first step towards a national health insurance plan. It was important to see if the plan could include everybody. It might not be affordable for the country to cover everybody.

A journalist asked for an update on the hospital revitalisation programme.

Mr T Mseleku (Director General: Department of Health) replied that the hand over of hospitals was a 20 year programme. Not more than five hospitals would be handed over this year. There were also hospitals that were being built as part of the revitalisation programme.

A journalist from the Natal Witness asked if the Minister could provide information on the number of people who had died due to side effects of ARVs.

The Minister said that she did not have the figures. The issue would be discussed on 06 May 2005 at the MinMec.

A journalist asked what were the unintended consequences of the National Food emergency Scheme. The Scheme ended with the 2004/05 allocation following concerns about its unintended consequences.

Mr K Sathekge (Director General: Social Development) replied that the scheme was introduced as a pilot and as a result of the soaring food prices. Some of the scheme’s unintended consequences included that shopkeepers were losing the buying powers of their communities. Communities were no longer spending as much as they did before the scheme and this had a negative effect on businesses. People who were outside the scheme began to feel that they would never be reached and as a result there begun to be some tensions in the communities. The government had decided to redefine the programme and a new programme would be driven by provinces. Provinces would have the flexibility of assisting households by giving various forms of assistance other than food parcels.

Mr Mseleku added that communities were beginning to say that the government should assist them so as to be able to help themselves in the future and not promote dependency.

The Minister added that the Department had campaigned for the establishment of community gardens. Waterberg in Limpopo province had a very good community garden which was managed by women. It was helping in job creation and sold its produce to clinics and schools. The Department had assisted with seeds and agricultural implements.

A journalist said that South Africa was very active within the World Health Organisation (WHO). She asked if the Department had informed WHO that it did not want to be pressurised into reaching the three million people by 2005 target.

The Minister replied that it was very important to bear in mind the availability of resources. The administration of ARVs should not be to the detriment of the nation. One could not provide ARVs to hospitals that did not have the capacity to administer them just for the sake of reaching a target. South Africa was not present when the target was agreed upon.

The briefing was adjourned.