Four ecumenical bodies have welcomed the appointment of the Deputy President of South Africa to head a revived South African National AIDS Council (SANAC).

The ecumenical bodies expressed their support in a joint letter sent earlier in the week on the eve of a national meeting to address the country's AIDS crisis.

The letter was signed by the secretary general of the World YWCA, Dr Musimbi Kanyoro; secretary general of the World Alliance of YMCAs, Dr. Bartholomew Shaha; general secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches, Rev Mvume Dandala, and by coordinator of the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance Ms Linda Hartke.

In the letter, the ecumenical leaders stressed the importance of communication and cooperation between civil society and government: "No response to AIDS has been effective without the united efforts of all aspects of society."

The letter also emphasised the need to work together and for the government to keep the promises it had made on AIDS including the Millennium Development Goals and the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS passed unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly on 2 June 2006.

The South African government has come under fire for its response to HIV and AIDS which includes the promotion of traditional remedies instead of anti-retroviral therapy. The government has also been accused of denying the scale of the pandemic in the country.

The letter states, "We are all aware that the appropriateness of responses to HIV and AIDS in South Africa has created deep divisions between the government and civil society" and calls the new government direction "a positive step forward to bring
government, the private sector, and civil society together to improve the country's response to the pandemic."

The National Civil Society HIV and AIDS Prevention and Treatment Congress, "Building Solidarity: An Action Plan to Save Lives" opened yesterday in South Africa. The Deputy President will be the keynote speaker.

The letter from the ecumenical leaders calls on all parties to keep in mind the urgent need for effective action on HIV and AIDS: "In the end, the winners-or losers-are those living with the virus, for whom political will and enabled health care systems are a matter of life and death."