South African Press Association (Johannesburg)
July 9, 2002 Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang on Tuesday rejected reports by an overseas newspaper quoting her as saying that anti-retroviral drugs were "poisons" killing "our people". According to Tshabalala-Msimang the report was made by a Newsday reporter in Barcelona, Spain with whom she had a brief interview this week. Tshabalala-Msimang pointed out that immediately after the Constitutional Court ruling on the provision of Nevirapine in designated public hospitals, she had stated the government's intention to abide by the ruling. "Considering all these actions taken by the government, it does not make any sense for Newsday, through its reporter, to spread false information that I have said anti-retroviral drugs are 'poisons' killing our 'people'. "These allegations are nothing more than mischievous fiction created to hold us back from opening a new chapter of unity and hope in the fight against HIV and Aids in our country," she said. The only concern she had raised with the reporter was that the government had not been able to establish from the (US) Food and Drug Administration as to why the application for registration of Nevirapine was withdrawn in the US. SEE: Rage Over 'Poison' As AIDS Treatment
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