Breaking the silence on AIDS

Abstract

South Africa's Deputy President, Thabo Mbeki, has addressed the country with the aim of raising awareness regarding HIV/AIDS. He pledged support in the areas of prevention, care, and nondiscrimination. This marks the beginning of a new campaign to form partnerships to fight the epidemic. At midday on October 16, 1998, all South Africans were urged to stop work for 10 minutes to listen to Mr. Mbeki and to contemplate the implications of the epidemic. Flags flew at half mast on government buildings and community leaders pledged themselves to the President's Partnership Against AIDS. Mbeki says the Partnership will "break the silence against the disease. We have closed our eyes as a nation and allowed the virus to spread." More than 3 million of the country's 37.9 million population are estimated to be HIV-positive and every day another 1500 South Africans are infected.