Dr. Mantombazana Tshabalala-Msimang
Dr. Tshabalala-Msimang was born 9 October 1940. She died 16 December 2009 from complications due to a liver transplant. She had served as a Deputy Minister of Justice from 1996 to 1999 before becoming the Minister of Health from 1999 till 2008. It was in the role of Minister of Health that she is best known.
Dr. Mantombazana Tshabalala-Msimang grew up in Durban and gradutated from Fort Hare in 1961 with a BA degree. After this she went into exile as did many young ANC cadres. Her country of exile was the former- Soviet Union. It was here that she received her medical degree from First Leningrad Medical Institute in 1969. Later she moved to Tanzania where she received a Diploma in Obstetrics and Gynaecology from University of Dar es Salaam Medical School in 1972.
The next few years saw her working with health services in Tanzania and Botswana. She was also responsible for the medical care of ANC fighters.
She returned to South Africa in 1990 and at first worked in community health organisations in KwaZulu-Natal. She was first elected to Parliament in 1994.
Dr. Manto Tshabalala-Msimang was South Africa's first and so far only medically-trained national health minister. While this undoubtedly gave her insight into the world of medicine that another politician would not have she also generated controversy.
Her HIV/Aids policy was met with derision and disbelief in equal parts. Her promotion of good nutrition over anti-retroviral medicines (ARVs) and her delaying the handing-out of drugs which would prevent mother-to-child HIV/Aids transmission had a deadly effect contributing to the deaths of many.
But she also took on the tobacco companies and pushed for more draconian laws limiting the sale of tobacco products and places you may use tobacco products. Her health policies were geared towards broad public goals of which she saw HIV/Aids as only as only a small part. She pushed pre- and post-natal care, diabetic care and primary health care service delivery.
Her view that of HIV/Aids will probably be what she is best remembered for but it must also be remembered that she tried and succeed in parts to bring about a better health-care system for everyone.
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Page Updated: 2 August 2011
