Chairperson, the ANC-led government will continuously strive to reduce cases of TB, diabetes, malnutrition, maternal death and malaria. Over and above this, the impact of the HIV and Aids pandemic requires a massive joint effort of state and all sectors of society so as to reverse and finally eradicate it.
Government will intensify its implementation of the comprehensive strategy against this pandemic and mobilise all sectors and all citizens to play their role.
Last Friday, 14 November, health Ministers from the SADC area marked malaria day by spraying houses at Mamnfene Village in Northern KwaZulu- Natal Village in Northern KwaZulu-Natal with DDT pesticide. Spraying houses with this pesticide is one of the easiest ways in which malaria - a disease which kills hundreds of people in the region every year - can be prevented.
Malaria-prone countries are caught in a vicious cycle of disease and poverty, which slows the country's economic growth, discourages foreign investment and tourism and affects the development of territories and people's choices of economic activities.
However, they acknowledge the increased investment that has been made and the political commitment of governments of the region, the continent and at international level.
The significant decline in the parasite prevalence since the commencement of the Lubombo Special Development Initiative, which promotes the use of indoor residual spraying, demonstrates clearly the power of united action of all the countries in the SADC region. Thank you very much, Chairperson.