Pretoria - Despite independent reviews indicating that Sub-Suharan Africa including South Africa will not meet its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, a determined Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi is committed to changing the situation.
Addressing Health Ministers from around the world attending the World Health Assembly in Geneva on Monday, Motsoaledi said the department intended to introduce simpler basic interventions to bring down the high mortality rates through lessons from other countries that were once faced with the similar situation.
"I am committed to changing this situation and I wish to share my hope and conviction will all my colleagues who have to meet these targets, that this situation can be reversed.
"We will learn from the experiences of those countries and Member States whose maternal mortality rates ranged from 250 and 450 in the 60's and have significantly dropped to below 25 by 1990.The simple measures we are referring to are mainly about doing the right things at the right places and at the right time, these interventions have been well documented," he said.
He added that the country was committed to preventing the deaths of children under five who die from curable and treatable conditions each year.
"Every one of these children deserves an equal chance of survival, we all have a responsibility to act and we are doing so in South Africa, that is why massive child immunisation campaigns have been launched last month," he told delegates.
He said the main causes of maternal and child mortality is associated with HIV and AIDS and TB, therefore, the country's response to improving the mortality rates included effective measures to fight these diseases.
"We are determined to launch ourselves on a trajectory that will dramatically bring about improvements in health," he said.
Motsoaledi also shared the country's interventions in fighting HIV and AIDS including the newly launched HIV, Counselling and Testing campaign, which aims to get up to 15 million tested for HIV by June 2011. It also forms part of government's new and up-scaled HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment plan, which was announced by President Jacob Zuma last December on World Aids Day.
"We are certain that it is the simple, sensible things that will bring about results in the war against HIV and AIDS," he added.
