Dear Subscribers * Interfaith Service at St Georges Cathedral, Cape Town on Sunday, 7 October, at 15:00 until 16:00. All are encouraged to attend. The purpose of the service is to demand the following: - Implementation of a Country-wide Mother-to-Child Transmission Prevention (mtctp) Plan - A National Treatment and Prevention Plan incorporating, among other things, mtctp and antiretroviral treatment. Speakers: Archbishop Ndungane, Cosatu President Willie Madisha, Rabbi Hoffman, Moulana Esack, Zackie Achmat This service is for all people of all religous and non-religous persuasions. Please be there! * UCT Meeting Jameson Hall, 13:00 on Wednesday 10 October (same theme as above). All welcome. Speakers: Zackie Achmat, Sonia Giese. Demands are the same as for the Interfaith Service. * We received a request to grant the state an extra two weeks to submit their papers in the mtctp case. Zackie Achmat's response is below: Dear All We were informed by our lawyers that the South African government has asked for another two weeks delay. Their papers were due on the 4 October 2001. Our lawyers have advised us to grant them time. We have granted the previous government, this government and the Health Ministers time since 1992 when it became clear that breastfeeding advice and counselling were essential to allow women to make an informed choice. We allowed the government time when the 1994 trials showed that long-course AZT reduces MTCT but it was "too expensive" for developing countries. We allowed the government time in 1998 when the Thai short-course AZT regimen became available and showed efficacy. Then again, we allowed the government time when the Uganda Nevirapine trials became available to learn and to implement a programme. Finally after many memos, meetings, pickets, statements, threats, demands and requests -- we have gone to the courts to defend the right of women to choose and the right of children who are born to a healthy life chance. Both women with HIV/AIDS and their children have a constitutional right to health care access. Every time we granted the government time and in good faith believed their promises, children have become infected in their tens of thousands. Against our better judgment, we will agree to a one week delay. We demand that the government agrees that this matter will be heard during 2001. Any further delays will betray a brutal callousness towards the lives of ordinary people. We ask everyone to attend the TAC Interfaith Service on 7 October 2001 at St. George's Cathedral (14h30 for 15h00) as a protest against further delays and in support of the demands to develop an ARV programme for pregnant women with HIV and a treatment plan for all people with HIV/AIDS. Regards Zackie Achmat ******************************* TAC Details ----------- email: info@tac.org.za website: www.tac.org.za Snail Mail: TAC PO Box 74 Nonkqubela 7793 Contact: Nonkosi Khumalo (TAC Executive Secretary) (27) 72 231 1422