US embassy cable - 05PRETORIA4557

UNCLAS PRETORIA 004557 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR AF/PDPA LILI MING, S/GAC EPRUETT AND NSCHIEGG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, KHIV, KPAO, SF 
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA'S MEDIA: DRIVING THE DEBATE ON 
HIV/AIDS POLICY 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary: The media in South Africa is a vibrant 
component of the nation's young democracy, and on no 
issue has this fact been more apparent or significant 
than HIV/AIDS.  In a political environment lacking a 
significant opposition, the media's role in driving the 
debate over HIV/AIDS has demonstrated the benefit of an 
unfettered press. In commentary, editorial cartoons, and 
even routine coverage, the press has given full voice to 
criticisms from South African civil society, opposition 
figures, and international organizations.  Core to those 
criticisms is the belief that the government has adopted 
an unhurried response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. End 
Summary 
 
2.  (SBU) For several years, the South African government 
(SAG) has been routinely chastised in and by the press 
for its slow approach to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.  As early 
as 1999, print headlines critical of the SAG included 
"Government Silent on HIV Deaths," and "Health Ministry 
Unsure of AIDS Origins."  In addition to critical 
coverage and commentary, the South African media has 
amplified the messages of activist organizations such as 
the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), which has played an 
influential role in promoting the expansion of treatment 
programs, often in direct opposition to the Government. 
 
3.  (SBU) In more recent years, the tide and tone of 
media coverage related to HIV/AIDS has turned even more 
clearly against the SAG, with headlines from 2004 and 
2005 including "Who's Counting the Bodies?" and "Mbeki, 
Health Minister Among HIV Dissidents."  Over this period, 
criticism of Health Minister Dr. Manto Tshabalala- 
Msimang, who has repeatedly questioned the benefits of 
ARVs, has been unrestrained.  One editorial cartoon, for 
example, depicts the Minister dispensing garlic and 
lemons (which she has suggested as alternative 
treatments) from atop a pile of bones. 
 
4.  (SBU) The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief 
(PEPFAR) in South Africa has also at times been the 
target of media criticism, particularly on issues 
relating to generic antiretroviral drugs and the ongoing 
debate over prevention priorities.  In recent months, 
however, PEPFAR's profile has improved as its pace and 
scope become more widely appreciated.  While the media 
has yet to overtly compare the SAG response to that of 
PEPFAR, such a comparison is not unlikely as the 
Emergency Plan continues to expand. 
 
5.  (SBU) Media managers, senior journalists, and civil 
society leaders express no doubt that the press has 
played a key role in compelling the SAG to adopt a more 
assertive strategy toward HIV/AIDS.  The Government's 
HIV/AIDS and STD Strategic Plan and resulting ARV rollout 
would not, many suggest, have been realized without 
constant pressure from AIDS activists and the media. 
Civil society and the media push a reluctant SAG along. 
This fact may in part explain recent attacks made by 
South African President Thabo Mbeki on nongovernmental 
organizations which, he claims, are being used by foreign 
donors for "political purposes."  Among the unnamed 
organizations that observers assume have fallen afoul of 
the President is the Treatment Action Campaign. 
 
HARTLEY