Association of Women in Public Health

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Parliamentary Editor

CAPE TOWN President Thabo Mbeki will be called to account for his statements on rape and his failure to lead the national response against HIV/AIDS when he faces questions in the National Assembly this month.

About 10 days ago Mbeki took aim at critics of the latest crime statistics, particularly those who claimed that rape was highly prevalent in SA. He is to be asked on what basis he claims rape is not a frequent occurrence in the country.

Mbeki has in recent years also largely been absent from the HIV/AIDS debate following his questioning of whether HIV caused the AIDS syndrome.

The questions he will be asked attempt to get him to commit himself to the battle against the pandemic, particularly in the light of recent increases in the rate of HIV infection among pregnant women .

Democratic Alliance (DA) health spokesman Ryan Coetzee will ask the president on October 21 to make public any information that the government might have in its possession that "suggests that rape is not pervasive in SA and that rape is not, in part, accountable for the spread of HIV in SA".

Coetzee's question continues by saying that if the government does not have this information, could Mbeki then give details of what he bases his opinions on.

Coetzee will ask Mbeki whether, in the light of the recent antenatal survey which shows that some 27,9% of women attending government clinics are HIV positive, "the government is in possession of any information that indicates that prevailing sexual practices and the attitudes of some men towards women do not account, in large part, for the spread of HIV in the country".

Because HIV/AIDS is not a notifiable disease, studies like those done in antenatal clinics are used as an indicator of overall prevalence in the country, based on certain models.

The third leg of the question asks whether, in the light of the antenatal report which "indicates that government's fight against HIV/AIDS has not reduced infection rates since his decision to withdraw from the public discourse on how best to deal with the pandemic, he will now play a major role in leading the fight against HIV/AIDS".

Other questions on the question paper include one from Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille about how those who did not honour their growth and development summit commitments would be held to account.

She also asks which of the social partners involved in the summit have failed to perform on the targets set.