SOUTH AFRICA'S MEDIA: DRIVING THE DEBATE ON

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