December 2000

NELSON MANDELA SPEAKS OUT AGAINST AIDS

Amidst a resounding standing ovation from the delegates at the Thirteenth International AIDS Conference in Durban, the ex-President of South Africa Nelson Mandela took the stage at the closing ceremony at the International Convention Centre. The large auditorium reverberated with welcome songs for Mandela, who used this opportunity to add his voice to the worldwide struggle against HIV/AIDS.

By Bobby Ramakant

Third World Network Features

There was hardly a dry eye at the closing ceremony of the International AIDS Conference in Durban as Nelson Mandela took the stage to make an impassioned statement on the need for all concerned citizens to work together to combat the spread of AIDS.

The presence of Mandela at this world meet and his impassioned speech constituted a suitable finale to the deliberations.

Mandela said at the outset, ‘It is never my custom to use words lightly. If 27 years in prison and 27 years of silence in solitude have taught me anything, it is how precious words are!’

Referring to the recent controversy over major issues related to AIDS raised by South African President Thabo Mbeki, Mandela asked his countrymen to support their President and his scientific enquiry, saying, ‘The President of this country is a man of great intellect who takes scientific thinking very seriously and he leads a government that I know to be committed to those principles of science and reason.’

Stressing the need for us not to indulge in mud-slinging and worthless arguments, he said, ‘The ordinary people of the world, particularly the poor - who on our continent will again carry a disproportionate burden of this scourge - would wish that the dispute about the primacy of politics or science be put on the backburner and that we proceed to address the needs and concerns of those suffering and dying. And this can only be done in partnership. History will judge us harshly if we fail to do so right now.’

‘Wasting words and energy in worthless ridicule distracts us from our main course of action, which must be not only to develop an AIDS vaccine, but also to love, care for, and comfort those who are dying of HIV/AIDS. A vaccine shall only prevent the further spread of HIV/AIDS to those not already infected; we must also direct our concern towards those who are already HIV positive.’

Employment opportunities and a dignified life are still a distant dream for HIV-positive patients even in the most advanced social set-ups. Even today HIV patients are refused basic treatment in many medical facilities if they reveal their HIV-positive status. Doctors remain unwilling to attend to HIV-positive patients.

Mandela did not mince words when speaking on the magnitude of the AIDS pandemic. ‘Let us not equivocate: a tragedy of unprecedented proportions is unfolding in Africa. AIDS in Africa today is claiming more lives than the sum total of all wars, famines, floods, and the ravages of deadly diseases such as malaria.

‘It is devastating families and communities, overwhelming and depleting health care services, and robbing schools of both students and teachers. Business has suffered, or will suffer, losses of personnel, productivity and profits; economic growth is being undermined; and scarce development resources have to be diverted to deal with the consequences of the pandemic.

‘HIV/AIDS is having a devastating impact on families, communities, societies, and economies. Decades have been chopped from life expectancy and young child mortality is expected to more than double in the most severely affected countries of Africa. AIDS is clearly a disaster, effectively wiping out the development gains of the past decades and sabotaging the future.’

Society at large remains largely unprepared to meet the challenge of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. A massive effort is required if we are to successfully tackle the menace of HIV/AIDS. As Mandela put it, we need to ‘move from rhetoric to action, and action at an unprecedented scale...’.

Mandela has also stressed that HIV is wholly preventable. ‘I am shocked to learn that 1 in 2, that is, half, of our young people will die of AIDS. The most frightening thing is that all of these infections were preventable.’

Speaking on strategies to prevent the further spread of HIV, he pointed out, ‘The experiences of Uganda, Senegal and Thailand have shown that serious investments in, and mobilisation around, these actions make a real difference. Stigma and discrimination can be stopped, new infections can be prevented, and the capacity of families and communities to care for people living with HIV and AIDS can be enhanced.’

Outlining the future course of the war to contain the spread of HIV in South Africa, Mandela exhorted the delegates to remember that, ‘The challenge is to move from rhetoric to action, and action at an unprecedented intensity and scale. There is a need for us to focus on what we know works. We need to break the silence, banish stigma and discrimination, and ensure total inclusiveness within the struggle against AIDS.’

‘We need bold initiatives to prevent new infections among young people, and large-scale actions to prevent mother-to-child transmission, and at the same time we need to continue the international effort of searching for appropriate vaccines. We need to aggressively treat opportunistic infections, and work with families and communities to care for children and young people, to protect them from violence and abuse, and to ensure that they grow up in a safe and supportive environment.’

Nelson Mandela has succeeded in issuing a clarion call to action as the world prepares to enter the new century facing one of the biggest public health disasters mankind has ever known. - Third World Network Features

About the writer: Bobby Ramakant is the Key Correspondent of the Thirteenth International AIDS Conference, Durban, South Africa. He can be contacted at: C-2211, C-Block Crossing, Indira Nagar, Lucknow-16, India. Phone: 358230, 98380, 86584. Fax: 358230. Email: ramakant@globalink.org

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