HIV & TB Response

TAC Electronic Newsletter

 Contents

  • March to Parliament – 19 September 2006 Contents
    • March to Parliament – 19 September 2006
    • Appeal to support our Global Call to Action
    To donate to TAC, please go to http:/www.tac.org.za/donate.htmlTo subscribe to this newsletter please send an email to news-subscribe@tac.org.za and respond to the confirmation request.To unsubscribe to this newsletter send an email to news-unsubscribe@tac.org.za and respond to the confirmation request.March to Parliament on 19 September 2006All Members of Parliament are invited to participate in our meeting outside Parliament to discuss TAC’s demands400 seats for MPs will be made available outside ParliamentOur Demands:
    1. Convene a national meeting and plan for the HIV/AIDS crisis now.
    2. End deaths in prisons – provide nutrition, treatment and prevention.
    3. Dismiss Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.
    4. Respect the rule of law and the Constitution.
    5. Health for all – End health Apartheid, Build a People’s Health Service.
    Time: Rally starts @ 10h30 at Keizergracht Street. March starts at 12pm and will proceed to Parliament.We will ask MPs to put pressure on the Department of Health to amend the ARV site accreditation process which is acting as a bottleneck to access to treatment.The event also coincides with the monthly Correctional Services Portfolio Committee meeting. The march will highlight the need for the committee to pressure the Department of Correctional Services to develop an HIV plan for all Prisons and to take address HIV infections in prisons seriously.We will demonstrate with 110 crosses to represent the 110 deaths that occurred in Westville prison last year. We will also have 1,000 people carrying boards representing the over 1,000 new infections in South Africa daily In front of parliament we will have 400 chairs, one for each Member of Parliament, to come meet with the public on the issue of HIV. We hope MPs will take up our offer.For more information contact our Western Cape Provincial office on: (021) 447-2593 or 021-788 3507Contacts:Vuyiseka Dubula (WC Provincial coordinator): 082 763 3005
    Sipho Mthathi (TAC General Secretary) 084 3007 007
    Nomfundo Eland (TAC National Treatment Literacy coordinator) 084 3990 022
    Linda Mafu (TAC National Organiser) 084 3007 037
    Zackie Achmat (TAC National chairperson) 083 467 1152 
    Fredalene Booysen (WC Provincial Organiser): 083 774 2329[END OF MARCH STATEMENT]Appeal to support our global call to actionIn South Africa, 800 lives are lost to AIDS and 1000 new HIV infections occur on a daily basis. This is despite a government promise to provide comprehensive AIDS treatment and prevent new infections. The destruction and social dislocation resulting from this is tragic and unacceptable for a country which has the resources to do better. Continued failure to acknowledge HIV and AIDS as a crisis and to take decisive action has forced the TAC to step up pressure for the government to respond properly to end this crisis.800 deaths a day should be intolerable in any society and we will not tolerate it. This is why we have called on the President to convene a national crisis meeting on AIDS and for the firing of the Minister of Health for failing in her duties. We believe that millions of people depend upon our success with these demands and we will not end this campaign until there is a real and lasting breakthrough. We consider this campaign necessary because continuing with the current approach to AIDS, which is being exacerbated by political denial, would be a dereliction of all our duty to save lives. Your contribution will save lives!To sustain this campaign, we are planning further demonstrations, meetings with key allies, and a campaign of advertisements in national media setting out the facts about HIV death in our country as well as what we feel needs to be done to avert this crisis.If you support this campaign we appeal to you to help us by donating to TAC’s Campaign Fund. If you are employed donate via our website Donate Now and encourage your friends, family and comrades to do the same. Every donation will be recorded and audited. TAC’s audited financial statements for previous years are publicly available. To find out more about the work of TAC and how you could become more involved, please visit our website www.tac.org.za or contact our National Office on +2721 788 3507.For Financial Contributions speak to bongekile@tac.org.za +2731 304 3673 and deborah@tac.org.za +2711 339 8421.Thank you.Sipho Mthathi (General Secretary) Zackie Achmat (Chairperson)[END OF APPEAL]