New Health Minister Appointed In South Africa

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Article Date: 01 Oct 2008 - 11:00 PST

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

Member of Parliament Barbara Hogan has been appointed South Africa's new health minister by the country's interim President Kgalema Motlanthe, the AP/Google.com reports (Nullis, AP/Google.com, 9/26). Hogan previously was chair of the influential finance portfolio committee (News24, 9/26). According to the AP/Google.com, the previous health minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, has been appointed to a position in the office of the president. Hogan's appointment "suggested a stark shift in South Africa's AIDS policy and was seen as a sign that Motlanthe would pursue his own course," according to the AP/Google.com (AP/Google.com, 9/26). According to Toronto's Globe and Mail, Hogan's first comments after her appointment indicated that HIV and tuberculosis will be her priorities. "I think the biggest challenge is HIV/AIDS and all the strains that it places on the health system," Hogan said (Nolen, Globe and Mail, 9/29). According to the New York Times, Hogan is a "welcome choice by groups that campaign for the distribution of antiretroviral medications" (Bearak, New York Times, 9/26). The Treatment Action Campaign praised Hogan as having "a reputation for being hard-working, competent and principled," adding that she had been one of the few members of parliament to address HIV/AIDS during the tenure of former President Thabo Mbeki, who resigned on Thursday. Hogan said that she was "deeply touched" by the reaction from HIV/AIDS advocates to her appointment (BBC News, 9/26).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2008 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation.  All rights reserved.