Aids is God's Challenge - Sa Minister

Aids might be an opportunity provided by God for South Africa to care for its people, its health minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, told religious leaders yesterday in Johannesburg.

She was launching an interfaith initiative to combat the epidemic through counselling and information.

"Perhaps HIV and Aids is God's way of challenging us to care for our people, to support the dying and to appreciate the gift of life," Dr Tshabalala-Msimang said.

Some 4.7 million South Africans, one in nine, have the virus that causes Aids, more than any other country in the world.

Dr Tshabalala-Msimang has been blamed by Aids activists for not providing antiretroviral drugs to the general population. The government has said it would be too expensive for the numbers involved, and has questioned the drugs' effectiveness.

In a much-publicised civil disobedience campaign, the activist Treatment Action Campaign has filed manslaughter charges against her and another minister, Alec Erwin, for deaths from Aids-related illnesses they say could have been prevented. The attorney general is expected to say this week whether he will allow the ministers to be charged.

In her address Dr Tshabalala-Msimang said Aids "could also be a God-given opportunity for moral and spiritual growth, a time to review our assumptions about sin and morality".

A faith-based effort was needed because religious leaders were in a position to disseminate information on the disease.

"Aids need not be a crisis, and people living with HIV/Aids need not die," she said.