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Health Minister easy with IMC

    JOHANNESBURG

    South African Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has dismissed reports that she had been 'sidelined' after a cabinet decision to reinforce its interministerial committee (IMC) on HIV/AIDS.

    Deputy-President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka was brought in as a damage control measure after numerous ministers voiced concern that Tshabalala-Msimang had been diverting focus from the government's anti-AIDS strategies.

    Tshabalala-Msimang has consistently drawn international criticism for supporting the views of well-known AIDS dissidents, and her controversial promotion of garlic, beetroot and the African potato as effective means of treating HIV/AIDS.

    However, the health minister maintained she was part of cabinet discussions and did not feel threatened in any way.

    "The establishment of the IMC is not a new thing, we have had one before.

    It probably wasn't functioning as well as it should have functioned [but] I have always been part of it, so I welcome its reinforcement," Tshabalala Msimang told the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) on Sunday.

    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

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