The statement was issued by the Anglican Church, the South African Catholic Bishops Conference, the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the AIDS activist group the Treatment Action Campaign. They also expressed concerns that the government was trying to downplay an unreleased report by South Africa's Medical Research Council which estimated that AIDS caused 40 percent of South African deaths last year. AIDS activists have accused the government of suppressing that report, but officials said it needed further study. "Our clergy report that every week they are burying people who die of AIDS. Young workers are disappearing and dying from 'natural causes' in the prime of life, leaving their families behind with no income or support. Educators and (students) are buried alongside each other," the statement said. The group called on the government to declare HIV/AIDS a national emergency, to provide moral and political leadership to fight the disease and to increase the health budget to provide cheaper AIDS drugs, better care for the infected and better education. [ENDS] PlusNews is produced under the banner of RHAIN, the Southern African Regional HIV/AIDS Information Service. RHAIN's members currently include: UNAIDS-ICT/ESA, IRIN, SAfAIDS, PANOS, Health Systems Trust, Health Development Networks, GTZ/Afronets IRIN-AIDS Tel: +27-11 880 4633 Fax: +27-11 447 5472 Email: AIDS@irin.org.za ------------------ IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO SUBSCRIBERS IRIN has introduced a brand new e-mail service allowing you to be more selective in the information you receive. With the current system being phased-out from 22 September, please go to the IRIN web site at http://www.irinnews.org/subscriptions/default.asp to resubscribe yourself and take full advantage of the new options that are available. This will automatically remove you from the old distribution list. If you do not have access to the web or experience any problems please contact subs@ocha.unon.org and we will assist you to resubscribe. Joanne Clarke IRIN Customer Services Tel +41 22 321 8425, Geneva, CH mobile +41 078 631 9996 joanne@irinnews.org ------------------- [This item is delivered in the "africa-english" service of the UN's IRIN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by commercial sites requires written IRIN permission.] Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2001