Christof Maletsky
19 December 2001
THE Namibian Government could face a court challenge similar to the recent one in South Africa if it continues to drag its feet on supplying HIV-positive pregnant women with drugs that could prevent their babies from getting infected.
Head of the AIDS Law Unit in the Legal Assistance Centre, Michaela Figueira, did not rule out the possibility that the Government could end up defending itself in court if the introduction of anti-retroviral drugs continues to be delayed.
Figueira said last Friday's judgement in South Africa which ordered the government to avail drugs to pregnant mothers was "a significant step forward in the realisation of the right to health".
"In the context of the HIV-AIDS epidemic, allocation of resources has become an increasingly pressing issue in Namibia as in South Africa," said the head of the unit which fights for the rights of the infected and affected.
The unit and other AIDS organisations have a petition signed by over 5 000 Namibians and which calls on Health Minister Dr Libertina Amathila to provide access to affordable mother-to-child transmission prevention (MTCT) treatment as well as access to prophylactic treatment for rape survivors.
The petition has not yet been presented to Amathila because she has said that the issues were receiving the Government's urgent attention.
Recently Deputy Health Minister Minister Richard Kamwi announced that prophylactic treatment for rape survivors was now available at public health facilities.
"This move must be applauded. It is, however, insufficient. The promised pilot programmes in Oshakati and Katutura for MTCT prevention have not materialised despite promises that they would be implemented by no later than September 2001. This is a great source of disappointment," Figueira said.
Amathila said the AIDS community knew the Government was working on the provision of drugs and she could not understand why they "want to be seen to push" the Government."
"They can go ahead [taking the Government to court]. It is a free country. But they know that we are working on it. It is no use trying to show off while we are busy introducing the programme," Amathila told The Namibian.
The Minister said training for health workers who will be involved in the two pilot projects in Windhoek and Oshakati was continuing.
The registration for HIV-positive mothers was almost complete, while some were already undergoing counselling to prepare them psychologically for the programme.
"When the drugs come we will announce the actual start of the programmes. We expect to give the drugs very early next year," Amathila said.
Another activist said the point in South Africa was not whether the government had introduced the programmes but whether enough was being done to avail the drugs to all infected mothers and their children.
Under the Windhoek and Oshakati pilot projects some 250 women from each town will receive Nevirapine, also called Viramune, which slows the reproduction of HIV in the body, before and after the birth of their babies.
A dose of Nevirapine - a tablet given to the mother during labour and a teaspoon of syrup to the baby within the first 72 hours of birth - can cut infection rates.
The baby will be released from the programme after 100 days while the mother and father will continue to receive anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs.
The Namibian Constitution states that the State shall actively promote and maintain the welfare of the people by adopting, inter alia, policies that will raise and maintain an acceptable level of nutrition and standard of living for Namibians and improve public health.
Some AIDS activists argue that in terms of this constitutional provision the Government has a duty to make the treatment available to pregnant mothers that have been appropriately tested and counselled.
It also has a duty to plan an effective national programme to prevent or reduce MTCT without further delay.
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