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The South African Medical Association (SAMA) has described Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang's "exaggerated" emphasis on nutrition for the treatment of AIDS as regrettable and against the law.
Dr Kgosi Letlape, chairperson of SAMA, which represents 70 percent of doctors working in South Africa's public and private sectors, accused Tshabalala-Msimang of "confusing a vulnerable public" with her misrepresentation of the facts on the role of nutrition.
"Antiretroviral (ARV) medication is the only treatment that is scientifically proven to prolong the lives of people with AIDS," he said, adding that without appropriate clinical trials and approval by the Medicines Control Council, any claims being made by the minister for the therapeutic effectiveness of nutrition in treating AIDS were breaking the law.
"There is no current scientifically proven alternative to ARVs in the treatment of AIDS patients with weakened immune systems," Letlape said.
"The public should no longer be subjected to ambiguous advice and confusing statements."
The health minister's spokesperson, Sibane Mngadi, accused SAMA of misrepresenting the government's policy on HIV and AIDS.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions