Chair, provincial spending intended to facilitate the roll- out of the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission Programme, as well as expand access to antiretrovirals for people living with HIV, will have to be closely monitored. Reports that government will be short of R1 billion for HIV and Aids drugs in this financial year raise serious concerns. We cannot afford a repeat of the shortages experienced in the Free State earlier this year. South Africa has one fifth of the world's HIV-infected people. Yet, there has been no proper costing. So, we do not really know what we require to meet the need for treatment - this must be done.
Maternal, child and women's health and nutrition is another concern for the ACDP. Each year, according to statistics, 1 600 women die from complications in pregnancy and childbirth; 20 000 babies die before they are a month old; 75 000 children die before the age of five; and 20 000 children are stillborn. Shockingly, some have concluded that the easy way out of this dilemma is for women not to carry their babies to full term. In addition to statistics, hundreds of thousands more babies have been destroyed in their mothers' wombs in line with government policy.
Efforts to strengthen emergency medical services in line with the 2010 Fifa World Cup commitments are noted and welcomed. However, appalling conditions in hospitals with a drastic shortage of beds and staff do not appear to be a major consideration in this budget. The ACDP would like to give the new administration and the new Minister the benefit of the doubt. However, due to our grave concerns, including about the funding of abortion on demand, we cannot support this Vote. Thank you.