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