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From Africa Recovery, New Releases, July 2001

African leaders speak out on AIDS

Africa and African leaders dominated the debate at the three-day UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on HIV/AIDS that ended in New York on 27 June. Just two months after convening in Abuja to consider emergency measures to combat the pandemic (see Africa Recovery, June 2001), 17 African heads of state and government attended the special session to affirm their commitment to strengthen domestic anti-AIDS efforts and call for expanded international support.

With 70 per cent of HIV infections and nearly 80 per cent of all AIDS fatalities worldwide occurring in Africa, leaders emphasized the link between poverty and AIDS and the importance of combining education, prevention and treatment programmes for a concerted attack on the deadly infection. Many speakers urged support for Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Global AIDS and Health Fund, which hopes to raise $7 - $10 bn annually to combat HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases in Africa and other developing regions. Others outlined national and regional efforts to contain the disease and acknowledged that empowering women and ending the stigmatization of people with HIV were central to the prevention effort. To many observers, including Mr. Annan, the presence of so many of Africa's top leaders at UNGASS reflected a new willingness to grapple with the social, political and economic factors at the heart of the epidemic. Some of their comments appear below:

President Benjamin Mkapa, Tanzania
That most of the Heads of states that are attending this special session are from the developing countries is a testament to the obvious -- that it is us who are most affected; who must lead the way; [and] who need the greatest international support. It is us who dare to hope that this special session will produce not only a declaration but practical commitments of urgent support as well.

It is one thing for Africa to assume leadership and ownership of this holistic and integrated approach, and quite another to get it operational. The cost of implementation is prohibitive...especially as we have another war front, that against poverty. We are here to appeal for greater partnership and more help, with new resources, not repackaged existing aid programmes...There are those who accuse the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, of raising unrealistic expectations. To us, this is not the problem. The real problem is lack of political will among the rich countries and corporations. If they can spend over $300 bn to subsidize agriculture which accounts for less than 10% of their GDP...they can surely spare $10 bn for the Global [AIDS and Health] Fund.

President El Hadj Omar Bongo, Gabon
Africa -- as recently demonstrated in Abuja -- is ready to become a partner in the fight against AIDS...In terms of access to drugs, developing countries are still unable to obtain treatments. Yet the spirit of equity, justice and humanity requires that these drugs be made available for all who need them rich countries owe this to mankind in the name of humanity and solidarity. Small pox was eradicated. Polio too is being eradicated. AIDS must also be vanquished.

Prime Minister Pascoal Mocumbi, Mozambique
HIV proliferates mostly because of women's poverty and inequality...In Mozambique the overall rate of infection among girls and young women, estimated at 15 per cent, is twice that of boys their age; not because the girls are more promiscuous, but because nearly 3 out of 5 are married by age 18 -- 40 per cent of them to much older, sexually experienced men who may expose their wives to HIV/AIDSAbstinence is not an option for these child brides.

The key platform of our national policy to combat HIV/AIDS is prevention Only when people are adequately informed, can we succeed. Accordingly, we must give special attention to vulnerable groups such as women and young people, girls in particular. We are striving to provide the necessary information and skills that will empower them to protect themselves.The struggle against HIV/AIDS will fail if women and their rights are not brought to the forefront. Similarly, the manner in which people living with HIV/AIDS are treated is a matter of great concern for us. Our parliament will be debating in the near future legislation aimed at protecting the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS.

President Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria
I wish to make a plea for the millions who are already infected with the HIV virus. These people...require primary attention. I will include here millions of children orphaned by the disease. This special session must consider and adopt a comprehensive approach that accords priority to treatment and improvement of life for the infected persons...and adequate welfare and provision for AIDS orphans.

The circumstance and the situation of HIV/AIDS underscore our call for total cancellation of Africa's debt in favour of investment in the social sector. If we are to be true partners in development, the debt issue must be addressed in a comprehensive manner that frees our resources to enable us fight the scourge...as well as meet our other social obligations to our people.

President Abdoulaye Wade, Senegal
To act against AIDS is first of all to speak about it and forever break the conspiracy of silence; then it is to fight the taboos and conquer the stigma of the disease and the infected. It is also about informing, sensitizing, educating and being responsible for the sick by giving them treatment, psychological and social assistance to ensure that they are not marginalised.

Competent international organisations such as UNAIDS have acknowledged and applauded Senegal's successful efforts at eradicating the disease. And this experience goes to show that the correlation between under-development and the spread of AIDS are not always related. Senegal is prepared to share with others its experience, and the expertise of its researchers and other resourceful people as a way of contributing towards concerted efforts and solidarity to fight the HIV/AIDS peril.

President Festus Mogae, Botswana
We shall shortly introduce anti-retroviral treatment in our public health facilities...as part of the strategy for fighting AIDS. In this respect, Botswana fully supports the proposal to establish a global fund for HIV/AIDS.It is important for the fund to have criteria that will ensure that its resources are used to meet the needs of countries most seriously affected by HIV/AIDS such as Botswana. It would be unjust to exclude countries such as my own on account of per capita income. The fund should have efficient and flexible rules of operation and mechanisms for the disbursement of the funds and give priority to the most affected countries.

President Alpha Oumar Konare, Mali
I call this a meeting of hope, since we are echoing the appeal of millions of sick people for whom the future is only written in the present. It is the role and the calling of the UN to show the way, to encourage the necessary action, to converge means needed to fight this disease and to co-ordinate with concerned countries. Universal morality compels us to reject imposition of a system in which the sole beneficiaries are those with money power. In this particular instance, where the very survival of mankind is at stake, we should establish...the notion of 'global public welfare' for the indispensable survival of humanity.

The integration of the different national strategic plans into sub-regional plans of action has merit...As for the issue of generic drugs, the international community must shoulder the responsibility [to provide them, including ] the UN and multinational companies.

Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili, Lesotho
We believe it is a basic human right of both the infected and affected to have access to quality care and support at all levels. We are thus making every effort to ensure that the human rights of both the infected and affected are respected. To this end, we are focusing on removing the stigma attached to the disease and, through the law reform process, also removing the gender disparities that negatively impact on the capacity of women and girls to take control of their sexual health. The rapid increase in the number of orphans has prompted us to...ensure the protection and maintenance of their access to health, education, food and shelter. We are thus reviewing our child and social welfare policies as well as mobilizing support for and of the concerned sectors.

Lesotho fully subscribes to the target of 25 per cent reduction [in new infections] by the year 2003 among the 15-24-years age group. Our efforts at achieving this is slowly beginning to bear fruit as evidenced by the high level of knowledge and awareness about HIV/AIDS, which is now estimated at 95 per cent.

President Paul Kagame, Rwanda
Rwanda is among the 14 Sub-Saharan African countries most seriously affected by HIV/AIDS. It is currently estimated that some 400,000 Rwandans out of a total population of 8 million are infected. One of the contributing factors was the 1994 genocide, in which untold numbers of women and young girls were systematically raped. The impact of this episode in our history has not yet been fully grasped. The massive internal and external dislocation and movements of millions of people during this period also contributed to the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Despite these challenges we have taken a number of initiatives to combat HIV/AIDS in my country, including...a ten-fold increase in voluntary testing since 1997; a programme of prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission [and] a scheme for purchasing anti-retroviral drugs, which are made available to the public at subsidized rates...The Rwandan youth have taken a leading role in their own right, as demonstrated by the establishment of anti-AIDS clubs in almost all secondary schools in the country.

President Daniel Arap Moi, Kenya
My government has enacted emergency legislation to deal with life-threatening epidemics. This legislation provides for the suspension of existing patent protection legislation. It is framed to prevent abuse. Manufacture, marketing, distribution and export [of medicines] are rigidly controlled. The sole purpose of the legislation is to make high quality AIDS drugs, which are the subject of internationally valid patents. They will be made available to my people at the lowest possible cost. The time has come when we are compelled to make a decision between the lives of our people and the right of commercial interest...This is why we are embarking on [such a] course of action.

King Mswati, Swaziland
I say to you, fellow members: My people are dying. They are dying before their time, leaving behind their children as orphans, and the nation in a continuous state of mourning. However, we are not standing idle.We are searching for home grown solutions to the different aspects of the crisis. The tradition of the extended family and community spirit is the basis for our approach to provide care and support for the needy.

We depend increasingly on the traditions and culture of the past for our guidance -- especially in the promotion of abstinence. Our traditional healers have much to offer in research partnership with modern day techniques and effective medicines. And our healthy local foodstuffs provide the right nutrition for those in need. The success of this summit, and the only justification for its substantial expense on us all as members, will be measured in terms of a reversal in numbers of the dead and dying. Our people can accept nothing less than that.

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