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The Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) on Wednesday said the 12-day hunger strike by the South African HIV/AIDS lobby group the National Association of People living with HIV/AIDS (NAPWA) was "extreme but necessary".
"As extreme as it was, the NAPWA hunger strike has made a point ... Sometimes we need to be a little radical in our attempts to do what is right", coordinator for the AIDS Office of the SACBC, Sister Alison Munro told the UN news service Plusnews.
Twenty-two members of NAPWA went on a hunger strike to force government and pharmaceutical companies to provide free HIV/AIDS drugs to all people living with HIV/AIDS. The group ended its protest action on Monday.
The SACBC appealed to the governments and pharmaceutical companies of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to speed up the implementation of clear and effective HIV/AIDS treatment strategies.
The SACBC said in a statement: "Pharmaceutical companies cannot continue to hold the government and private individuals to ransom on the costs of HIV/AIDS medication."
The SACBC also said it holds the South African government to its "Declaration of Commitment" at the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS in June 2001 where it agreed to ensure by 2003 that national strategies are developed to address factors affecting the provision of HIV/AIDS-related drugs.
UNAIDS estimates the Southern African region has the highest prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS with some countries reaching as levels as high as 40 percent.
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