New Health Minister Appointed in South Africa

Member of Parliament Barbara Hogan has been appointed South Africa's new health minister by the country's interim President Kgalema Motlanthe, the AP/Google.com reports (Nullis, AP/Google.com, 9/26). Hogan previously was chair of the influential finance portfolio committee (News24, 9/26). According to the AP/Google.com, the previous health minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, has been appointed to a position in the office of the president. Hogan's appointment "suggested a stark shift in South Africa's AIDS policy and was seen as a sign that Motlanthe would pursue his own course," according to the AP/Google.com (AP/Google.com, 9/26). According to Toronto's Globe and Mail, Hogan's first comments after her appointment indicated that HIV and tuberculosis will be her priorities. "I think the biggest challenge is HIV/AIDS and all the strains that it places on the health system," Hogan said (Nolen, Globe and Mail, 9/29). According to the New York Times, Hogan is a "welcome choice by groups that campaign for the distribution of antiretroviral medications" (Bearak, New York Times, 9/26). The Treatment Action Campaign praised Hogan as having "a reputation for being hard-working, competent and principled," adding that she had been one of the few members of parliament to address HIV/AIDS during the tenure of former President Thabo Mbeki, who resigned on Thursday. Hogan said that she was "deeply touched" by the reaction from HIV/AIDS advocates to her appointment (BBC News, 9/26).

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