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May 2002
Dear Friends,
The mood in South Africa has become decidedly optimistic in the
past month, thanks to a number of developments—some substantial,
some more frivolous. Undoubtedly the most significant event has
been the government’s effective volte face on HIV/AIDS policy.
For several years, the South African government has been reluctant
to improve access to the antiretroviral drugs widely used to treat
people living with certain stages of the virus. The official explanations
for this foot-dragging have been varied and confusing. It was
said that the drugs were not sufficiently affordable, even after
the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), a grassroots movement led
by people living with HIV, used legal action and an astute public
relations campaign to compel pharmaceutical companies to offer
the drugs at greatly-reduced rates. On other occasions, officials
argued that the efficacy of the drugs had yet to be proven and
that it would be irresponsible to make them widely available before
current trials had produced convincing results. Most worrying,
the statements of some key leaders—including President Thabo
Mbeki—seemed to suggest that decision-makers even doubted
the existence of the HI virus or that it was the cause of AIDS.
This waffle generated growing tension, not only between the government
and civil society organisations, but also (reportedly) within
the ruling party. Having successfully taken on the drug companies,
TAC had increasingly turned its attention to the government. Last
year, it brought a suit against the Minister of Health for restricting
access to medications that substantially reduce the risk that
the children of HIV+ women will contract the virus. TAC won, and
the court ordered the government to make the drugs available through
the public health system. However, the government appealed to
the Constitutional Court, South Africa’s highest court. The
case is still being heard, but even if the government wins, it
is likely to be a pyrrhic victory from a public relations standpoint.
Churches, too, have been increasingly persistent in calling for
a change of policy. Last year, the national conference of the
South African Council of Churches (SACC) adopted a resolution
calling on the government and churches alike to step up their
efforts to combat the pandemic and to care for those infected
and affected by the virus. Late last year, the General Secretary
of the SACC, the Rev. Dr. Molefe Tsele, addressed a gathering
in Durban. He used the opportunity to call on all parties to accept
a set of common principles—including the belief that HIV
causes AIDS— in an effort to stem the growing polarisation
of the debate and to shift the focus of policy back to where it
belongs: on halting the rapid progress of the disease and improving
the quality of life of those infected and affected by the virus.
In early April, the SACC convened a national consultation on
HIV/AIDS. Participants challenged the government to work in partnership
with all stakeholders to lead the fight against the pandemic.
The church leaders involved in the event committed themselves
to use sermons and homilies to destigmatise the virus, to make
church facilities available for use as testing and counseling
centres, and to increase support for home-based community care
initiatives.
So it was with much relief that churches greeted the announcement
last week that the government was to abandon its overly-cautious
approach to treatment and dramatically expand access to public
mother-to-child transmission prevention programmes. At the same
time, the government moved to distance itself from the controversial
views of the "AIDS dissidents"—a handful of academics
and researchers who have used their membership in the President’s
task force on AIDS to dispute the orthodox position that there
is such a thing as an HI virus and that it is the cause of AIDS.
The policy shift has reverberated throughout the society, enhancing
confidence in both the government and the economy. The beleaguered
currency, the rand, which lost roughly 20 per cent of its value
against the U.S. dollar in the last months of 2001, has soared,
recovering about half of its losses. This seems to have been a
huge boost for national morale. More importantly, it may help
to alleviate inflationary pressures which have been especially
noticeable in food and fuel prices in recent months. Price hikes
in these basic goods tend to have particularly grave consequences
for poorer households.
Another factor that seems to have sent national pride and optimism
skyrocketing (literally) has been the successful voyage of South
African Internet-millionaire-turned-space-tourist Mark Shuttleworth.
Dubbed the first "Afronaut" by the press, Shuttleworth
has been hailed as heroic pioneer by local opinion-makers from
President Mbeki on down. I confess I find the feting of such conspicuous
consumption somewhat surreal in a land where the majority of people
live below the poverty line. To his credit, however, Shuttleworth
has sought to make his trip something more than a personal joyride.
While in space, he is conducting a series of scientific experiments
for South African universities, and he has established a foundation
to promote the teaching of math and science in South African schools.
Signs of optimism and hope are always to be welcomed. Yet much
remains to be done. This past week, I represented the SACC on
a panel that briefed members of Parliament’s Education Committee
on the proposals in this year’s People’s Budget—a
joint initiative of church, labour, and nongovernmental organisations
intended to promote public initiatives to alleviate poverty and
create jobs. Despite the committee’s responsibility for education,
much of the discussion focused on the impact of rising food prices
and the most effective ways for the state to satisfy its obligation
to provide comprehensive social security.
Following this rather academic discussion, I returned to the
office to find an unexpected visitor—a representative of
one of the many communities of people who have been living on
vacant land on the outskirts of Cape Town. In this case, the community
had been there for more than twenty years, but they still enjoy
no security of tenure. To date, however, they have tried to pursue
their case using tactics familiar from years of struggle against
apartheid: marches and protests. I tried to put him in contact
with organisations that have experience in negotiating the complicated
official land claims procedures established since 1994. While
I expect that the community will still have to endure long delays
and many more frustrations, I hope that they will ultimately be
able to gain secure access to residential land.
Grace and peace to you all,
Doug Tilton
The 2002 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 46
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