Acvitist ends effort to force government to provide AIDS drugs

CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- South Africa's top AIDS activist said Monday he is abandoning his pledge not to take potentially lifesaving AIDS drugs, ending an unsuccessful effort to force the government to give its people the medicine.

Zackie Achmat, who has been HIV-positive for years, accused President Thabo Mbeki and other officials of not caring about the lives of those infected with the virus that causes AIDS.

"I am not going to die because they want us to die," the 41-year-old told a cheering crowd outside an AIDS conference in the coastal city of Durban.

Achmat, head of the Treatment Action Campaign, will begin taking cheap, generic versions of AIDS drugs as soon as he gets the appropriate medical tests, said Nathan Geffen, a TAC spokesman.

"We need Zackie to live through this and not become a victim of the government's denialism and arrogance," Geffen said.

Worldwide attention

Achmat's protest -- refusing to take the medicine until the government provided it to poor South Africans -- attracted worldwide attention and put a human face on the pain caused by the government's often criticized AIDS policy.

In recent years, he was frequently ill. Since last August, he has had two chest infections and a degenerative nerve disorder.

Geffen said the TAC's leadership "ordered" Achmat to start taking the drugs so he could continue to lead the protest movement.

The activist has been on a steady diet of vitamins, antidepressants, tuberculosis prophylactics and nutrients, but acknowledged earlier this year he would need AIDS medicine to survive.

His sacrifice to what many see as the country's second liberation struggle after the fall of apartheid caught the attention of former President Nelson Mandela, who visited Achmat last year in a show of solidarity.

The government has been criticized for its often lackluster approach to fighting AIDS and for Mbeki's flirtation with dissident AIDS theorists, who doubt the disease's existence and the safety and effectiveness of medicine used to fight it.

Though the Cabinet said last year it was looking into providing AIDS drugs, there has been almost no move to do so.

Civil disobedience

An estimated 5 million South Africans are believed to be HIV positive. Unlike the vast majority of infected people in this impoverished country, Achmat has health insurance that will pay for his drugs.

His decision came as his movement announced a second wave of civil disobedience, since there has been no progress in four months of talks with the government.

The TAC marched Monday to the AIDS conference, demanding the resumption of negotiations between the government, business and civil society on establishing a cohesive national AIDS policy.

Conference speakers urged greater commitment to the development of vaccines, increased access to AIDS medicines and prevention plans targeting young people.

Supporting the cause

Achmat's move was welcomed by many who supported his cause.

Dr. Kgosi Letlape, chair of the South African Medical Association, praised Achmat's decision and said Achmat's improvement under the drugs will make him a living example of their effectiveness.

"It is high time that South Africans see that these drugs are lifesavers," he said.

Marta Darder, coordinator of Medecins Sans Frontieres' access to essential medicines campaign, welcomed Achmat's change of heart, especially his decision to take generic drugs, a symbolic nod to his efforts to bring down the cost of the medicines.

"We don't think that this fight needs people to go to that level of personal sacrifice. He is a key player and this will bring more light on the issue of AIDS in this country," Darder said.

There was skepticism, however, from the National Association of People Living with AIDS.

"As much as HIV and AIDS is about the individual, we can't as a whole nation focus on one person. Many people in this country are not taking AIDS drugs," said group director, Nkululeko Nxesi.