This is an archive of the Treatment Action Campaign's public documents from
December 1998 until October 2008. I created this website because the TAC's
website appears unmaintained and people were concerned that it
was becoming
increasingly hard to find important documents.
The menu items have
been slightly edited and a new stylesheet applied to the site. But none of the
documents have been edited, not even for minor errors. The text appears on this
site as obtained from the Internet Archive.
The period covered by
the archive encompassed the campaign for HIV medicines, the civil disobedience
campaigns, the Competition Commission complaints, the 2008 xenophobic violence
and the PMTCT, Khayelitsha health workers and Matthias Rath court cases.
HIV has led to the premature death of more than 10 million people from AIDS worldwide.
Access to treatment is essential in order to save the lives of more than 35 million people with HIV worldwide.
Treatment will encourage people to come forward, live openly with HIV/AIDS and give real meaning to prevention efforts.
TREATMENTS ARE AVAILABLE
THE PRICES ARE TOO HIGH!
Anti-retroviral drugs have been shown to extend the lives and improve the health of many people with AIDS and advanced HIV disease. People in poor countries cannot gain access to life-saving medications because of their price.
HIV infection and AIDS are not a death sentence. There are drugs that can successfully prevent, treat, and cure the opportunistic infections and co-infections, such as tuberculosis, fungal infections, pneumonias, cancers and malaria that kill most people with HIV and AIDS.
EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO HEALTH,
INCLUDING PEOPLE WITH HIV/AIDS!
All people with HIV/AIDS have a right to access to these treatments in addition to health care, employment, education, clean water, adequate nutrition including vitamins and mineral supplements, and housing.
Denying people with HIV/AIDS access to affordable medicines in order to protect profits or intellectual property rights, is tantamount to genocide.
Denying access to treatments or prevention intervention by any government body using the smokescreen of questioning the cause of AIDS is unacceptable.
TREATMENT WILL SUSTAIN DEVELOPMENT
In the worst affected countries of the world AIDS will massively increase inequality and poverty, widening the gap between rich nations and poor nations, men and women, as well as rich and poor - if people are not allowed to live healthy and productive lives.
Access to treatment for people with HIV/AIDS is essential to promote social and economic development for all.
CHILDREN HAVE A RIGHT TO TREATMENT
AND FAMILY LIFE
All children with HIV/AIDS have the right to treatment, parental care and support.
Access to treatment for adults with children, can give children access to quality parenting support by prolonging that life and improving the quality of that life. This would reduce the devastating impact on children and poor households.
WOMEN WITH HIV/AIDS
HAVE AN EQUAL RIGHT TO TREATMENT
Denial of treatment for HIV/AIDS affect women disproportionately because of social, political and economic inequality. All women with HIV/AIDS have an equal right to treatment, care and support.
All women have a right to anti-retroviral access to reduce HIV transmission during pregnancy.
All women and other rape survivors have the right to be informed that anti-retrovirals may reduce the risk of HIV infection if they are taken within 72 hours of being raped. All rape survivors have the right to anti-retroviral access within this time-frame.
HIV/AIDS RESEARCH MUST FOCUS
ON POOR COUNTRIES AND COMMUNITIES
Most HIV/AIDS research has focussed on the industrialised rich countries. The medical needs of children and women across the world have largely been ignored. Treatment and care needs of gay men and men who have sex with men in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean have been neglected.
Research priorities for prevention, treatment, care and support must reflect the profile of the disease and the needs of those who carry the heaviest burden. This is a challenge to the International AIDS Society and the conference.
All people, including people with HIV/AIDS, have a human right to health care, and we call on all individuals, organisations, and governments to ensure adequate medical infrastructure, care and treatments to save the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS.
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The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), Health Global Access Project (GAP) Coalition and the undersigned individuals and organisations will mobilise people throughout the world to support this call.
To endorse the Global Call
Send your name, organization, address, e-mail, fax, and phone to: globalcall@durban2000march.org.
Please specify whether your affiliated organization is endorsing the Global Call.
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We invite the Deputy President of South Africa and chairperson of the South African National AIDS Council -Mr. Jacob Zuma and the national Minister of Health Dr. Manto Tshabalala-Msimang to receive this call at the march - as host nation on the continent that is the epicentre of the epidemic. We ask the South African government to unite and lead all people around this call.
We invite Dr. Nkosazana Dhlamini-Zuma the Minister of Foreign Affairs to receive this call and to carry it to governments around the world.
We invite Professor Jerry Coovadia - chairperson of the Conference to receive the call on behalf of the medical and scientific community.
We invite Dr. Stephano Vella of IACS to receive this call on behalf of the medical community to promote to the public the importance of global solidarity in facing the AIDS crisis.
We invite Mr. Harvey Bale from the International Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association to receive this call to reduce the prices of life-saving drugs.
We invite Dr. Peter Piot head of UNAIDS and the ambassadors of every country in the world to receive this call and to translate it into the public policies of the governments they represent.
We invite the ambassadors of the European Union and the United States to receive this call against pressurising poor countries on behalf of drug companies.
We call on every person to join this march and this call to save the lives of millions throughout this world-and to build a global movement for HIV/AIDS treatment.
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The organisers of the Global March for HIV/AIDS Treatment Access are committed to a peaceful event. Success of this march depends on the people and organisations who support and endorse the global call for treatment access. We also critically support the International AIDS Conference despite its exclusionary cost structure and support given by the drug companies and wish that it will be succesful. This will be the first international conference in a country where a significant part of the population have HIV/AIDS and where treatment is unaffordable. Any attempt to boycott the conference or to create a climate of fear and violence will only serve the drug companies who wish to deflect attention from profiteering.