Issue date: 06 December 2013.
A very bright light has just gone dim. South Africa has woken up to the sad news that its first democratically elected president, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela has passed on. Although his death was expected due to his unstable health over a long time, the pain and sadness over his loss is very heart-felt. Nelson Mandela was an iconic world leader who dedicated his life to fighting the injustice of apartheid and defending the human rights of the down-trodden and was also a unifier of the oppressor and the oppressed. He was loved by many and, indeed, he was the father of the nation.
The HIV community will sorely miss his cherished role in the response to addressing the epidemic. Nelson Mandela has been instrumental in raising global awareness of HIV/AIDS. During his single term of office from the years 1994 – 1999, he was relatively quiet on the HIV/AIDS front, but this changed in the following years and he became a global voice in the fight against the epidemic. His most prominent contribution is probably through the 46664 campaign, a music-led HIV/AIDS awareness campaign which got its name from his prison number during his imprisonment on Robben Island. Mandela has financed various HIV/AIDS projects through his Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, ranging from scientific surveys to programmes for AIDS orphans. Mandela had a love for humanity, particularly for children.
On January 6, 2005, Mandela lost his only surviving son, Makgatho Mandela, due to an AIDS-related illness. At a time when many people would be silent on the cause of death because of the shame and stigma that AIDS attracts, Mandela was bold enough to announce the cause of his only son’s passing.
“Let us give publicity to HIV/AIDS and not hide it, because the only way of making it appear to be a normal illness, just like TB (tuberculosis), like cancer, is always to come out and say somebody has died because of HIV,” Mandela said shortly after his son’s death.
In June, this year, while he was fighting for his life in hospital, the head of the UN’s AIDS prevention agency hailed Nelson Mandela for his role in breaking the silence and shame surrounding the deadly disease. “He was the one who really helped us break the conspiracy of silence,” Michel Sidibe, the executive director of UNAIDS, said, in an interview with French news agency, AFP.
“His legacy is that of non-discrimination, inclusiveness, and making sure that we will continue to fight for the rights of people without rights… That is what he brought to the fight against HIV/AIDS,” he added.
Such selflessness and dedication is the kind of force that South Africa – a country where some 6 million people or more than 10% of the population are living with HIV – needs to break the back of the HIV epidemic.
“Mandela played a significant role behind the scenes in 2002 – 2003 to change the government’s policy on antiretroviral treatment”, says CEO of the South African National AIDS Council, Dr Fareed Abdullah.
“He visited the first public sector anti-retroviral treatment programme in Khayelitsha, Western Cape, and publicly declared his support for treatment. During his visit, he told people that he was paying for a university student’s ARV treatment and has seen her rise from her death bed and live a purposeful and successful life”, Abdullah recalls.
As the South African National AIDS Council and, indeed, the HIV community, we can never thank Mandela enough for his role and contribution in our cause. We say: Ndlela nhle! Lala ngoxolo! Tsela tshweu tata Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela!
Ends.
Issued by:
The South African National AIDS Council (SANAC).
For enquiries:
Khopotso Bodibe, Communications and Media Officer.
Email: Khopotso@sanac.org.za
Tel: 012 395 9675
Cell: 082 495 4158