Message of support from President Cyril Ramaphosa on TAC’s 20th anniversary

To the leadership and members of the Treatment Action Campaign

It is a special honour for me to have this opportunity to congratulate the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) on 20 years of existence.

The TAC as part and parcel of the social movement has made a lasting contribution to our society and the development of our democratic dispensation in the course of two decades of activism and transformation.

Your activism for access to medicines and human rights has saved lives and inspired action not only in South Africa but in other parts of the world.

In the spirit of Together We Move South Africa, TAC has grown into a vital social partner to government.

TAC’s living and ongoing legacy is particularly felt in your treatment literacy initiatives that empower people living with HIV to understand the medicines they are taking and adhere to treatment directives.

As we applaud and acknowledge the many ways in which TAC has had an impact on the policies and delivery of health care, we remain mindful of the sacrifices made by your members in the service of others.

We therefore pay tribute to your members’ courageous and selfless service to the nation.
I am encouraged that your agenda at this 20 year anniversary will include discussions of the health system and national health insurance (NHI).

Allow me to reiterate government’s irrevocable commitment to making the NHI work and ultimately deliver quality health to the people of our country.
As the NHI gets underway we will go ahead with a national quality improvement plan of our health delivery system, which will be rolled out concurrently with the implementation of NHI.

I am certain that the TAC will continue to lend a hand in the quality improvement initiatives in our health care facilities and participate in the practical implementation of the NHI.

I wish you well in all your deliberations.

Happy Anniversary!