E-drug: Global Solidarity in S. A.'s MTCT Court Case
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GIVE WOMEN A CHOICE! GIVE CHILDREN A CHANCE!
TAC APPEALS FOR GLOBAL SOLIDARITY IN
MOTHER-TO-CHILD-TRANSMISSION (MTCT) COURT CASE
On the 26-27 November 2001, South Africa will witness a court
case that can help to alter the course of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in
our country. The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) calls on your
support and solidarity to save people from unnecessary death and
suffering. We ask you to encourage our government to change its
tragic course in the HIV/AIDS epidemic. At heart, this court case is
about giving women a choice and children a chance.
Across our country nearly 300 000 women with HIV will give birth
this year. The majority do not know their HIV status and are not
given information or medicine that can reduce the risk of HIV
transmission to their children. As a consequence, at least 70 000
children will be infected with HIV during labour and through
breastfeeding. They will suffer an unnecessary painful death.
The government has the resources and the opportunity to give
women a choice to look after their own health and a chance to
prevent their infants from becoming infected with HIV. But, it has
dithered and reacted unscientifically, unlawfully and with no morality
to calls for the implementation of MTCT prevention programmes.
For more than five years civil society, initially led by the AIDS Law
Project and the AIDS Consortium, have lobbied government to
implement MTCT programmes to reduce HIV transmission to
infants. Since December 1998, TAC has led the call for government
to take action. We have petitioned, negotiated, written appeals,
organised workshops and conferences, publicised the need for
government action -- all to no avail.
In March 2000, Judge Edwin Cameron made the following appeal to
the government in the presence of the Minister of Health at a
national conference of people living with HIV/AIDS:
"Since 1994, very detailed and careful scientific and medical studies
have been done on how to reduce the risk that a mother with HIV
will transmit it to her baby during or after birth. The overwhelming
scientific consensus is that effective anti-retroviral medication can
be made available in a developing country to reduce transmission.
Every month in our country, approximately five thousand babies are
born with HIV. Medicines exist that, now, can reduce this figure by
half. Economists have done detailed studies that show that this
medication can be made available cheaply and affordably. Their studies have
also shown that, from a purely economic point of view,
it is better to save young babies from getting HIV than to let them
fall sick and die of AIDS, and that intervention will save the country
money.
"So overwhelming is the medical, scientific and economic
consensus on these points, that many people find it almost
impossible to understand why our Government is still delaying the
immediate implementation of programs to prevent mother to child
transmission of HIV. If government commits itself to helping
pregnant mothers, it will throw a beam of hope onto the entire
epidemic. It will throw a beam of light onto all our lives. If babies can
be protected from exposure to HIV by giving medicine to their
mothers, then all of us can hope that progressive implementation of
an accessible drugs programme will save many more lives in South
Africa and in our continent as a whole."
The government has spurned every opportunity to do the right thing.
Despite the TAC's unshakeable support for the government during
its court battle with the drug companies, TAC has had no option but
to defend the rights of poor women with HIV and children against
the government.
For TAC, legal proceedings were our last resort - they give people
who have lost faith in the government's commitment to address all
aspects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic a legitimate and legal avenue to
defend their constitutional rights to healthcare access, life, dignity
and equality. We are not opposed to our government. We are
opposed to the misguided and unconstitutional actions (or lack of
them) on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. You can consult our
court papers at www.tac.org.za
In August, we appealed publicly to the Government to abandon its
opposition to the orders TAC is seeking from the court: access to
Nevirapine for women and children who need it (under proper
medical supervision), and a clear national programme to prevent
mother to child HIV transmission. The Minister of Health spurned
this appeal.
We therefore appeal to every person in South Africa and across the
globe to support TAC's court action. We urge you to write letters of
support to TAC at the following address: TAC National Office Town
One Properties, Sulani Drive, Site B, Khayelitsha. Tel: +27 (0)21-364 5609
Fax: +27 (0)21 364 6653 Email: info@tac.org.za
Where possible, TAC requests supporters in South Africa to attend
the hearing in court or to join demonstrations. We request that
international allies arrange meetings with the South African
Embassies to urge the South African government to settle the court
case.
Please do not hesitate to make further enquiries.
Yours sincerely
Siphokazi Mthathi (TAC)
Cati Vawda (Children's Rights Centre)
Dr. Haroon Saloojee (Save OurBabies)
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