The IPU Advisory Group on HIV/AIDS held a series of events in South Africa during the week of 19-24 January 2009.
The two-day regional training seminar for the parliaments of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East African Community (EAC) provided members of parliament from the two regions with an opportunity to discuss their role in improving access to HIV treatment. The event was hosted by the Parliament of South Africa under the direct supervision of the Deputy Speaker, Ms. Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge. The meeting discussed trade rules and intellectual property laws and their effects on drug prices, as well as some of the other impediments to wider access to anti-retroviral drugs. The parliamentarians also heard a presentation on the SADC Parliamentary Forum Model Law on HIV and AIDS, which triggered a lively discussion around some of its key provisions.
After the conclusion of the seminar, the IPU Advisory Group on HIV/AIDS, led by its newly elected chair, Hon. Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu of South Africa, remained in the country for the rest of the week for meetings and visits. These included a day-long hearing inside the Parliament with different sectors represented in the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC), followed by meetings with senior health officials in the provinces of Kwa-Zulu Natal and Gauteng, and visits to hospitals, clinics, and orphanages.
The Group’s aim was fourfold: to learn about South Africa’s response to HIV/AIDS; to examine the role of parliament in addressing the HIV/AIDS pandemic; to enhance knowledge among fellow parliamentarians on legislative responses to HIV/AIDS; and to make it possible for members of parliament from different countries to share experiences with national health officials, from the highest level to the village volunteer. The visit was instructive. It gave a compelling picture, both of the daunting problems South Africa is facing and the scale of the nationwide response. The Group will be setting out its findings in a report, which will be submitted to the Parliament of South Africa and the IPU governing bodies.
