| Deputy President's speech at conference |
|
|
|
Address by H.E. Ms. Baleka Mbete, Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, at the second South African Business Against HIV & AIDS (SABCOHA) Private Sector conference.
SALUTATIONS It is a great honour for me to be part of this occasion. It gives us a platform to reflect on the important role to be played by business in achieving the goals in the National Strategic Plan (NSP). I wish to thank the South African Business Against HIV & AIDS, SABCOHA and its membership, for its co-ordination of “a private sector response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic”. Let me say to SABCOHA, your workplace initiatives are commendable and are applauded because through these initiatives you are able to target millions of employees who are affected and infected. The fact of the matter is that we can only succeed if we work together on issues of common interest, and on issues that affect the lives of our people from all walks of life. We have come together to reiterate our common understanding that HIV and AIDS is an enemy of the entire society and as such can only be defeated if we all join hands. Programme director, The determination of the business sector to enhance their efforts in this endeavour bears testimony of the shared patriotism that we all have on this important matter. I am also pleased by the level of attendance and the quality of discussions during this Conference since it clearly highlights the significance of partnerships. As a country, we can only meet the targets set out in the NSP for HIV/AIDS if we work together towards its implementation as business, civil society, lobby groups, scientists, health workers and traditional leaders. This plan was developed after wide consultations, which gives us the responsibility to forge ahead with speed towards the objectives of reducing the number of new infection by half in 2011. Ladies and gentlemen, In response to the Conference title, “What do we need to do differently?” We must move with speed to ensure that we also fulfil the aim of ensuring that at least eight (8) out of ten (10) people who need anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment receive it. It is through partnerships that we can eventually claim victory by increasing access to treatment, care and support to eighty percent (80%) of those living with HIV and AIDS as well as their families by 2011. Today, we are encouraged by the steps taken by the South African Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Metropolitan and Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) to take this fight to the high level. My own assessment is that the Conference theme is both inspirational and challenging at the same time. It is inspirational precisely because it gives us space to be innovative about the cause of action that we must take to double-up our efforts. But again it is challenging because it requires us to do more beyond just talking – to practically implement all the plans and strategies that will help us reach our ultimate goals. Programme director, For this reason, as government we are convinced that actions by business, including the Work the Future road show will go a long way in creating awareness about the dangers of HIV and AIDS. Most importantly, we are heartened through this event, business has been brought together under one organisational umbrella to look at the following critical issues:
What is business doing to ensure prevention of HIV infections? This visionary approach is what we need to define a better future for our country. I want to agree that the Work the Future road show is an important vehicle for the South African business to communicate the National Strategic Plan on HIV and AIDS as well as STIs. As you are aware, the primary aims of the NSP are to:
reduce the number of new infections by 50%, and I am glad this Conference recognises the role of business in helping to shape the future of South Africa through effective mass media and advertising campaigns; ensuring a closer partnership between the Health Department (DoH) and the private sector; with the private sector becoming an effective delivery vehicle for government treatment programmes; and in the private sector assisting to share resources where the Health Department is resource-constrained. Ladies and gentlemen, For this reason, we want to applaud all stakeholders for establishing the Live The Future model, which seeks to provide a vision for a future South Africa that effectively addresses this epidemic to change for the better the lives of all our people. Indeed this signifies a new and innovative approach that complements the NSP. It responds to the question: What is business doing to ensure the prevention of HIV infection? This dialogue and partnership must focus our response to innovatively move from inwardly- orientated tactical responses to activities focused at the grass-roots level. At the same time, the South African National Aids Council (SANAC) remains a platform for significant representation of all stakeholders. Moreover, we need to ensure that there is more representation on various stakeholders in the Provincial Aids Councils. We need the expertise and resources of the private sector to stimulate greater functionality and focus in these Provincial Aids Councils. Generally, the private sector is seen as an implementing partner by most international donors. By the example of SABCOHA’s core activities we can all learn a lot. They have devised praiseworthy activities that include sharing best practice models; communicating key information and lobbying for change. We urge this sector to work with us to unlock donor funding which will help us deliver better healthcare services to the impoverished communities of our country. Whatever we do must indeed translate into the provision of better service to the people of South Africa. There must be alignment between the activities of private health institutions and public health facilities especially on the provision of Voluntary Counselling and Testing as well as ARV treatment. This will also give impetus to the implementation of the Provincial Strategic Plans. In provinces that are constrained by resources, we appeal to the private sector to make their facilities available to the public. We will also appeal to the business sector to help us with additional capacity to respond to the issue of HIV and AIDS through the following sectors:
private health care sector, especially hospital groups in the sharing of expertise and capacity, As government, we take this opportunity to say that we unequivocally appreciate the work done by the private sector in our communities as part of the social responsibility initiatives! In a quest for a coherent approach, we also hope that these institutions and government will find each other to work together as some of the activities are already embarked upon by some NGOs together with the Department of Social Development (DoSD). Let us continue to work together to care for those infected and affected by the disease – we owe it to our people. Equally, we must increase our efforts to preach the ABC message – Abstain, Be faithful, Condomise, especially to the 15-24 age groups. We will on our part ensure that we also mobilise all our citizens, especially the youth, to heed this call that emphasises prevention, treatment-care-and-support, monitoring and human and rights and access to justice. In conclusion, we emphasise again that strong collaboration, continuous dialogue and partnerships are necessary for all of us as this is one issue that concerns everybody in society. I am certain that we will have more platforms to interact on this issue both within and outside SANAC. Once again, government applauds the initiatives of SABCOHA, Metropolitan and BUSA for your innovative approach in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Thank you. 5 November 2008
|