"Dr. Garlic" gone; Opportunity knocks

subscriber | 27 October, 2008

JOHANNESBURG. Sweden's Minister for Trade Ewa Björling sees great potential for cooperation with the current South African government (now that it has changed its face) in the battle against HIV/Aids here, she tells Africascan. When Thabo Mbeki was recently ousted as the country’s President, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, also known as Dr. Garlic or Dr. Beetroot, was also moved from her post.

Barbara Hogan was instead installed to head up the health department under Kgalema Motlanthe’s transition government.

“Now we have the chance,” Björling said, during her two-day visit to South Africa last week. “We have to push on - quickly.”

Nobody knows what’s in store after next year’s election - which ANC President Jacob Zuma is tipped by many to win. But right now, at least, there seems to be a window of opportunity to efficiently discuss HIV/Aids prevention and treatment.

“Now there is a Health Minister who the first thing she does is to say that 'now we are going to focus on HIV',” said Björling.

And while that may seem like stating the obvious for a health minister in a country with one of the highest HIV-prevalence rates in the world, this was clearly not the sentiment of the previous South African government.

“The previous government … with the Health Minister and Mbeki … denied how HIV is transmitted, denied the importance anti-retroviral medicines … and promoted the use of onions and beetroot instead,” said Björling, who also is a Doctor of Medicine and a docent in virology, specializing in HIV.

“Now that’s pretty hard to stomach,” she said. “Misinformation has been spread on the highest political levels.”

Hogan’s stance and approach to the epidemic seems worlds apart, and the minister has already begun reaching out to foreign governments and others who stand ready to assist the country in dealing with the HIV/Aids crisis.

”She has already contacted the Swedish embassy,” said Björling. And Sweden is ready to assist. “Sweden is going to help South Africa develop a new (national HIV/Aids) strategy … (with) technical development assistance,” she said.

Some of the ingredients that Sweden sees as vital components of a national HIV/Aids strategy for South Africa, and areas in which it would like to offer technical assistance, are: the distribution of information; prevention; condoms; and a focus on research initiatives, Björling explained.

”It’s a big job we have in front of us,” she concluded.