World News 27-11-2001 South Africa Sued Over Aids Babies who: The South African Government what: Accused of sacrificing Aids babies for money where: Johannesburg, South Africa when: Yesterday snippet: "The South African government was accused in court yesterday of sacrificing the lives of tens of thousands of babies by its "insane" policy of refusing to make anti-Aids drugs widely available to pregnant women," reports Chris McGreal in the Guardian as the trial of Thabo Mbeki`s government over the withholding of HIV drugs from pregnant mothers began yesterday. The government`s action "is `unreasonable and irrational` and could cause `thousands of ... avoidable deaths` among children" said Gilbert Marcus, barrister for Treatment Action Campaign, which, continues the Guardian report, "played a primary role in forcing multinational drug companies to abandon their patent-protection case against South Africa earlier this year." But Marumo Moerane, for the state, said South Africa`s poor health infrastructure "could not support a massive programme of anti-retroviral distribution and women who had taken Nevirapine were still transmitting the virus that leads to Aids through breast milk. `To give maximum benefits to pregnant women and children, you have to have phased implementation,` he said as quoted in the Independent. `We are trying to be responsible.`" BBC Online notes the TAC`s reply, that "a national policy to reduce the transmission of the HIV virus to children should include the provision of milk powder formula to avoid this problem." Earlier, continues the Independent, "about 200 demonstrators marched to the South African health ministry. Their banners read: `Save our babies` and `Government save us and our children`." [... more]

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