New SAfrica AIDS chief vows 'much better' results

JOHANNESBURG, Nov 1 (Reuters) South Africa's new coordinator on HIV/AIDS conceded the government had fallen short in fighting the epidemic and promised much better results using life-saving drugs.

Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka now heads the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) and is President Thabo Mbeki's top official on HIV/AIDS.

Controversial Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has been sidelined after a disastrous showing by South Africa at the world AIDS conference in August in Toronto.

Mlambo-Ngcuka yesterday said she would oversee a strategy that sets targets to reduce HIV infection and supply patients with anti-retroviral drugs -- life-saving medication that Mbeki and Tshabalala-Msimang have questioned in the past.

''We are very optimistic that this new SANAC... will ensure we are able to come up with results that are much better,'' Mlambo-Ngcuka told reporters after meeting AIDS campaigners.

Activists hope Mlambo-Ngcuka's appointment signals a government turnaround after years of desultory action against a disease which has infected some five million people in South Africa and is blamed for at least 900 deaths per day.

Tshabalala-Msimang, who has promoted natural treatments such as garlic and olive oil, was not present at yesterday's meeting. South Africa's policies were labelled ''worthy of the lunatic fringe'' by a senior UN official in Toronto.

Mlambo-Ngcuka said the government hoped to coordinate with AIDS activists on simple messages about how to stop the spread of HIV and dispel myths about the disease.

''We are not asking them to spin anything. We are just asking they help us communicate better,'' said Mlambo-Ngcuka.

Representatives of AIDS-affected industries including mining, agriculture and transportation will meet regularly and Mlambo-Ngcuka will chair a full SANAC meeting at least twice a year to chart progress.

The Treatment Action Campaign, one of the most vocal critics of South Africa's AIDS policies, said it backed the new drive and had helped with the official AIDS plan to be unveiled on World AIDS Day, December one.

''This is providing us a space to breathe and a release for all of us so that we can engage productively. It will mean more accountability for all of us,'' said Sipho Mthathi, the secretary general of TAC.

''But the litmus test is going to be on our ability to deliver.'' REUTERS MS RAI0910