South Africa’s Treatment Action Campaign have promised a national campaign of civil disobedience, beginning in March 2003, unless the South African government comes up with a national plan to provide antiretroviral treatment for people with HIV.
TAC are demanding free treatment for 100,000 people to be rolled out by March 2004, at a cost of R300 million , but expect the ultimate cost of treating the majority of South Africa’s 6 million people with HIV to reach R14 billion by 2013.
TAC promises a sustained national programme of civil disobedience, including hunger strikes, occupations, disruptions of traffic, meetings and events to place pressure on the South African government to commit money to provide antiretrovirals for adults with HIV.
“We have the capacity to begin, escalate and sustain a campaign of civil disobedience because of the urgency of our epidemic. Civil disobedience is not new to the tradition of politics in South Africa” said TAC’s National Executive in a statement issued today.
TAC’s National Executive issued the ultimatum after a meeting with Deputy President Jacob Zuma, who pleaded for more time, saying that the government is working on the plan. TAC had originally planned to launch the campaign in December, but is giving the government one last chance before it steps up the level of confrontation.
The decision to take the civil disobedience road comes after nearly two years of lobbying national and regional governments, together with legal action against the government. Further legal action to secure a national treatment plan is also envisaged.
Timetable for civil disobedience
December 1 2002 – original deadline set by TAC for National Treatment Plan
December 1 2002 – national and local demonstrations and religious services for a national treatment plan
February 14 2003 – national mass demonstration at the opening of Parliament
TAC will start a campaign of non-violent civil Disobedience if Government has not adopted an HIV/AIDS treatment plan, that includes antiretroviral therapy in the public sector, by the end of February 2003.