The South African
health ministry this week issued its list of groups
invited to take part in the United Nations General Assembly
Special Session on AIDS, which included the previously
banned activist group Treatment Action Campaign. In a
statement the ministry said invitees were chosen "with
the aim of representing a broad spectrum of sectors
involved in the response to HIV and AIDS."
Earlier this
month the health ministry had announced that TAC, which was
nominated for a Nobel Prize in 2004, would not be allowed to
attend due to its position on HIV, prompting harsh
criticism from activists. TAC has charged that the
government's response to the country's epidemic and its
rollout of antiretroviral medicines have been too slow, in
part due to a lack of political will from health
minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, who has questioned
the efficacy of anti-HIV drugs while touting the benefits
of nutrition and traditional medicines.
While declining
immediate comment on the reversal, TAC spokesman Nathan
Geffen said the group is "still trying to figure out what
was going on." (Reuters)