Experts, laymen seek AIDS solutions in South Africa meeting

DURBAN, South Africa, Aug 5 (AFP) - An AIDS conference united experts and laymen to take stock of the pandemic Tuesday, a day after scientists warned that South Africa was entering a "death phase" of the disease and should expect a rapidly rising mortality rate.

The four-day conference was conceived as a crossroads of local communities and the worlds of science and activism, but the tenor of the Durban gathering has been combative, with participants denouncing the lack of a national treatment plan.

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South Africa, which has one of the highest AIDS rates in the world, was told Monday to expect a surge in deaths from the disease.

"South Africa is coming out of a period of high HIV prevalence and is entering a period that will be marked by rapidly rising mortality rate," the University of Natal's Quarraisha Abdool Karim told the conference.

UNAIDS estimates 360,000 deaths in 2001 from AIDS in South Africa -- an average of nearly 1,000 per day.

The government has come under heavy criticism for failing to roll out a national plan to help AIDS sufferers, choosing instead to focus on "nutritious diets" as a way to fight the disease for those infected.

Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) chairman Zackie Achmat accused the government Monday of committing crimes against humanity by not allowing the population access to AIDS drugs.

"Why is he (South African President Thabo Mbeki) quiet while we are dying? I tell you something now, we are going to be quiet no longer," he told TAC members at a protest outside the conference venue.

"Government is committing crimes against humanity by not allowing the population access to AIDS drugs," Achmat said.

"Political will is crucial when dealing with this epidemic," he later said to loud applause from about 1,000 delegates.

"I want to appeal to all this country's people to stand with us and fight the government in any way they can."

South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma said at the opening of the conference the government was in the process of finalising several agreements to ensure access to medication.

Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said accusations that the government was committing genocide, were very serious.

"This is an irresponsible statement and one that is politically dangerous," Tshabalala-Msimang said.

Tuesday's agenda included workshops on topics including the impact of AIDS on children, clinical issues and possible vaccines.

Organisers of the event in the east coast city, sponsored by South African campaigners and business leaders, have crafted the conference in order to seek common ground between science and community and thus find better ways of preventing the spread of the disease.

Stephen Lewis, the UN special envoy on HIV/AIDS in Africa, earlier said other countries could learn from the example of Uganda, which by utilising its "human resource capacity" has enjoyed great success in countering AIDS.

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This article is Copyright 2003 by Agence France-Presse.

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