[Alma Mata] TAC Campaign

[Tom Yates]

The Treatment Action Campaign are mounting an intensive campaign to secure the
resignation of the South African Health Minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.
Since her appointment in 1999 and her reappointment in 2005 by President
Mbeki, Manto has: failed to address the HIV denialism in the Presidency;
delayed and undermined prevention programmes on mother-to-child HIV
transmission; undermined the government ARV plan; placed unrealistic
conditions on accreditation of ARV treatment sites; and allowed South Africa
to suffer under a higher maternal mortality rate, infant mortality rate, rate
of TB and death rate than during apartheid (all consequences of an unchecked
HIV epidemic). She has misrepresented government policy on nutrition and
HIV/AIDS. Today, under this Health Ministry and Department, the majority of
people who die in South Africa die before they reach the age of fifty. For
more information, go to www.tac.org.za or follow the South African media (for
example, www.mg.co.za).

The next phase of this campaign will involve international pressure - letter
writing, demonstrations and the like. If you are at a loose end over the next
few weeks and would like to help, email me ( dontcensortom at gmail.com) for more
details. If you can think of other organisations that should be involved in
this campaign, please send email addresses to christine at tac.org.za.