| Organisations
& Web-Based Resources |
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| Treatment Now
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Advocacy Actions
The South African Cabinet approved the Operational Plan for Comprehensive
Treatment and Care for HIV/AIDS on 19 November 2003. The plan stated "within
a year, there will be at least one [antiretroviral] service point in every
health district across the country, and within five years, one service point
in every local municipality." By way of monitoring and advocacy actions, the
Network and its partners will seek to ensure access to treatment for all. |
News
The Network has a threefold role: that of sharing information; identifying progress
and problems; and finally, Community-based and site specific ARV Roll Out Support.
Implicit in this is keeping the Network well informed of cutting edge medical
research, breaking news, and other relevant information on the Provincial and
National ARV Roll Out and HIV/AIDS care in general. Click HERE
to access the news archive. |
Participants
The KZN HIV/AIDS Civil Society Network is a network committed to building good
relations with Health Service professionals, NGOs, CBOs, academic institutions
and other role players in order to effectively monitor and support the Operational
Plan for Comprehensive Treatment and Care for HIV/AIDS within the Province. The
overall task of the network is to set up a reporting system to feedback information
from all accredited sites and to monitor everything from availability of counsellors
to treatment adherence. Click HERE
to join the network. |
Statistics
One of the main objectives of the Network is to effectively monitor and support
the Comprehensive Treatment and Care for HIV/AIDS within the Province. This website
has been developed to give access to a range of documents and resources. To further
facilitate the sharing of information an E-mail ListServ has been set up for discussions,
distributing newsletters, and to respond to specific questions. Join
Treatment Now! The e-list of the KZN HIV/AIDS Civil Society Network. To see
the collection of prior postings to the list, visit the Treatment
Now Archives. |
Treatments
Another important objective of the Network is to improve the flow of information between patients and their families, health facilities and health managers. Many organisations have networks, experience, skills and services that can support the treatment plan. Click HERE
to access the Online 2004 HIV/AIDS Directory a comprehensive listing of organisations
working in and around the epidemic. |
Updates
The Network publishes regular updates and information on what has been
happening around the Network including the Task Team. The update concentrates on strengthening coordination around the ARV Roll Out as an urgent, practical and life saving focus. |
Treatment Now Forum
The overall task of the network is to set up a reporting system to feedback information from all accredited sites and to monitor everything from availability of counsellors to treatment adherence. If individual doctors or other health workers are having difficulty getting patients onto the programme, the Network and its partners will seek to find out what the problems are, find out what support is needed and take it up with the district - and the province if necessary. Additionally, if the Department of Health claims a certain number of people are going on to treatment at a given site every week, civil society organisations need to check this is happening and if not why not. Inform the network what your organisation is doing, how the rollout is going in your area and what needs to be done by whom to get things going faster and more efficiently. Members Only Access. Click HERE to register.
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| Roll
out Medicine, Not excuses! |
The South African Cabinet approved the Operational
Plan for Comprehensive Treatment and Care for HIV/AIDS on 19 November
2003.
The plan said: "within a year, there will be at least one [antiretroviral]
service point in every health district across the country, and within
five years, one service point in every local municipality."
It aimed to have 1.4 million people on treatment within five years.
However, on 20 February Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang denied
that the government had promised to begin its treatment programme
by March 2004.
The start of the programme was reportedly delayed by lack of anti-retroviral
drugs because the government was waiting for tenders. At the end of
March, the health department promised to procure an emergency supply
of ARVs as an interim measure until the tendering process was completed.
By April patients in a handful of hospitals in Gauteng, the Western
Cape and KwaZulu-Natal began offering treatment to small numbers of
patients. Several 'accredited' sites in KZN have not had their accreditation
signed off by the Health Minister. But in June the health ministry
announced that no new patients, especially children, would receive
free antiretrovirals (ARVs) as the demand outstripped supply. Minister
Tshabalala-Msimang said that a shortage of anti-AIDS drugs, especially
for children, was a serious impediment to the programme.
However, one of the main pharmaceutical suppliers said that they had
a facility waiting to produce paediatric formulations - syrups rather
than the tablets prescribed for adults - but had not been asked to
do so.
A few days later, the Health Department said treatment for children
was not being suspended but it was up to provinces to check they had
adequate supplies to enroll new patients. However, it has been impossible
so far to confirm where children can access treatment - we have reports
that at least 2 accredited sites are not treating children.
Efforts ascertain the national status of the roll-out were fruitless.
Departmental officials, doctors and researchers actually laughed when
we said we wanted to know the number of people on ARV treatment in
the public sector.
It's outrageous that no one knows but outrage isn't going to get us
very far so what can civil society do?
- Get the facts
In KZN, dozens of organisations have come together to form a Civil
Society Network to monitor and support the rollout. The network
is setting up a reporting system to feedback information from
all the accredited sites and to monitor everything from availability
of counselors to treatment adherence.
- Monitor progress
If the Department of Health claims a certain number of people
are going on to treatment at a given site every week, civil society
organisations need to check this is happening and if not why not.
- Investigate problems
If individual doctors or other health workers are having difficulty
getting patients onto the programme, find out what the problems
are, find out what support is needed and take it up with the district
- and the province if necessary.
- Be part of the solution
Civil society organisations need to strengthen their relationships
with all roleplayers involved in the delivery of health services
to people with HIV/AIDS. In this way, we can improve the flow
of information between patients and their families, health facilities
and health managers. Many organisations have networks, experience,
skills and services that can support the treatment plan.
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