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Welcome remarks Pre-conference Nursing of the 21st International Aids Conference 2016
By DENOSA President: Simon Hlungwani
Honourable Minister of Health Republic of South Africa, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi
Honourable MEC for Health, KZN Provincial Government, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo
The US Consul General, Francis Chisolm
The Deputy Executive Director, Human Science Research Council, Prof Geoffrey Setswe
Organisors of this wonderful conference,
All nurses present here today, both international and local
The president of the IAS Chris Beyrer
Leadership of ICN, ICAP, ANAC, UN AID, IAS
Sponsors to this conference,
I greet you all
Bonjour, Sanibonani, Dumelang, Good morning.
It is an honour for me to be standing before you this morning, to welcome you to the Nurses pre-conference meeting of the 21st International Aids Conference. Please allow me to welcome you in the African philosophy of “Ubuntu” and say “Sanibonani”, which literally means we recognize you. Please do not be surprised as you get greeted many times in a day and often would even be asked how you are doing or how you slept and so on, as that is our culture symbolic to being concerned out of caring.
This is the second time, the IAC is held in South Africa, the first time was in the year 2000. We may remember Nkosi Johnson, who was only 11 years old but brave enough to stand before delegates and made a powerful impact on public perceptions of the pandemic and its effects. Today we are seeing many countries investing more in the treatment of HIV and Aids. We hope to have an AIDS free generation soon.
This gathering takes place 2 years after the tragic disappearance of the Malaysian Airline MH370, where some of the health professionals demised. Let us remember them for their dedication to serving humanity. Let us also remember all those who passed on due to HIV and related illnesses including nurses.
July is very significant to us as South Africans; it is known as Mandela Month and Monday the 18th is Mandela Day, the birthday of our former President, the late Dr Nelson Mandela. Many people all over the world will be dedicating 67 minutes of their time to making a difference in other people’s lives.
Nelson Mandela once said, “It is in your hands to create a better world for all who live in it.”
The Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital is almost complete. This is a legacy that Nelson Mandela wanted to leave for children of Africa. It will be opened in December this year. We expect that nurses will ensure the smooth running of the hospital and we invite those willing to assist sustaining Nelson Mandela’s dream to do so in kind.
We hope that this meeting will help us prepare for the conference, with the view to influencing treatment policies and guidelines throughout the world. As the backbone of health systems worldwide, our voice matters. The one challenge that stands in the way of universal access to quality healthcare, especially in the Sub-Saharan Africa which is hit the hardest by the HIV pandemic, is the severe shortage of healthcare workforce. This is really straining our health workers who are currently in the system in the region, the continent and world over. This is one intervention that as nurses we need to voice out very loudly, because it tests our health systems’ resilience.
The new guidelines by WHO on the AIDS treatment need to be matched by an increase in the healthcare workforce. We call on our colleagues the world over to assist us in this call for adequate health personnel numbers in our facilities, as well as the adequate supply of equipment and medication. We are happy that South Africa will be implementing the new WHO guidelines on the treatment of HIV starting from September this year. This ART programme is successfully led by nurses in South Africa through Nurse-Initiated Management of Antiretroviral Therapy (NIMART). The steady increase in the life expectancy for South Africans is largely contributed to this ART programme, which is led by our nurse cadres.
It is our strong belief, therefore, that nurses must be at the forefront in the fight against AIDS in terms of policy development and implementation, and devising and sharing of best practices.
We can only realize the sustainable development goal number three (SDG 3), “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”, if we succeed in strengthening the health system’s resilience.
May we enjoy the pre-conference; we hope it becomes a success.
Please enjoy your stay in South Africa
Merci beaucoup
Gracias
Thank you
