Call to remove Msimang as health minister

Durban: Aids activists have demanded the removal of South Africa's controversial Health Minister Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, accusing her of failing "as a doctor and minister".

Msimang is recovering after a successful liver transplant, her doctors said. She was widely criticised for calling anti-retroviral drugs "poison" and advocating a diet of garlic and beetroot to ward off Aids.

"Msimang has failed as a doctor and as a health minister,'' Nozuko Majola, Deputy Director of the Aids Foundation of South Africa, told Gulf News.

According to government figures, more than 800 people die of Aids each day in South Africa.