Treatment Action Campaign

Meeting point: Mapulaneng Multipurpose Centre, Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga Province
Date: 14 September 2007
Time: Meet at 9am. March to hospital begins at 11am.

Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) Limpopo and Mpumalanga will march to Mapulaneng Hospital tomorrow in support of the the implementation of the National Strategic Plan (NSP) in solidarity with the principles stood for by former Deputy-Health Minister Nozizwe Madlala Routledge. The march will focus on the Impilo antiretroviral unit at the hospital, which faces many challenges if it is to scale up to the goals of the NSP.

The antiretroviral rollout started at the Impilo unit in November 2005. It currently has approximately 1,300 clients on treatment and 1,000 people waiting for treatment. The unit attends to 130 clients a day. It has one doctor, one nurse trained in antiretroviral therapy, one pharmacist, one pharmacy assistant, one data capturer, a social worker, a dietician and three lay and adherence counsellors. The hospital has taken the initiative of establishing down referral clinics at Thulamahashe and Agincot. But with the challenges they are facing it will  difficult for the hospital to scale up treatment in line with the NSP.

Over 1,000 TAC members and community members will march to Mapulaneng Hospital to hand in a memorandum with the following demands:

1. The hospital must develop a human resources plan to meet its needs. The plan should have targets and time-frames.
2. The infrastructure of the antiretroviral clinics must be improved. They need proper furniture and equipment. There needs to be electricity and running water for the community health centres.
3. TB and HIV treatment should be integrated.
4. A multisectoral committee must be established to monitor the roll-out.
5. There should be greater political commitment and leadership from the ward counsellors, the mayor and the premiers of Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces. They should engage more effectively in their provincial AIDS councils.

As civil society and government we need to work together to implement the NSP.

Everyone is encouraged to attend. Your support in this campaign will show commitment to the implementation of the NSP.

For more information please contact the following:

Patricia Maditse                                                   
TAC Limpopo Provincial Coordinator                         
Tel:        015 291 5448
Fax:       015 291 5612
Cell:       078 456 3849
Email:    patricia@tac.org.za

Bheki Khoza
TAC Mpumalanga Provincial Coordinator
Tel:        013 752 7112
Fax:       013 752 7113
Cell:       083 555 6213
Email:     Bheki@tac.org.za