Treatment Action Campaign Awarded Prestigious 2003 Mandela Award For Health And Human Rights
The Cape Town-based HIV/AIDS treatment advocacy group, the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), has been awarded the 2003 Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights. TAC is recognized for its historic contribution to advancing the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS and specifically for its contribution to advancing access to treatment for HIV-positive people in South Africa and internationally.
The Award, established by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation in 1993 at the behest of Nelson Mandela, annually recognizes outstanding commitment and leadership in the effort to improve the health and health care of disadvantaged South Africans.
Announcing the Award, Kaiser Family Foundation president, Dr. Drew Altman said: "TAC's contribution to the struggle against HIV/AIDS in South Africa is unparalleled, and has also contributed in a major way to global awareness of disparities in treatment access."
"Advocacy efforts, like TAC's, are an essential part of any democracy" he added.
A statement from Mr. Mandela's office said: "TAC has made an historic contribution to alleviating suffering and mortality from HIV/AIDS by establishing access to AIDS treatment as a basic right in South Africa and globally. The efforts of TAC have mobilized the nation and strengthened our democracy."
Nominations for the Award are reviewed by a distinguished selection committee and are subject to approval by Mr. Mandela.
TAC was established on 10 December, 1998 - International Human Rights Day - and was launched to mobilize national support for access to treatment by people living with HIV/AIDS. In 2001, TAC brought a successful constitutional court action compelling government to make drugs available for the prevention of transmission of HIV from mothers to their children.
TAC in a statement said: "This is a recognition of our struggle to secure the right to health for all people by the world's foremost human rights hero, Mr. Mandela."
The statement continues: "We also wish to acknowledge the work of our allies whose solidarity and support has been critical to our work. There is a lot still to be done to improve access to treatment in South Africa, but much progress has been made."
TAC pledges to continue working for the implementation of an HIV/AIDS treatment plan.
Previous South African recipients of the Award include Rt. Rev. Desmond Tutu (1997 Honorary Award); Justice Edwin Cameron and Professor Jerry Coovadia (2000) and Professor James McIntyre and Dr. Glenda Gray (2002). TAC is the first organization to receive the Award.
