UN holds interactive meetings
Gaborone, July 2004: The UN conducted a two-day conference on HIV/AIDS and governance in Africa, from
26 –27 July to dialogue on scaling up AIDS treatment and care, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The conference, attended by a cross section of civil society, media and policy makers, as well as various UN agencies, discussed among others stakeholder experiences and opinion on the challenges of scaling up HIV/AIDS-related treatment and care programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa. It also focused on the pressing issue of preventing mother-to-child transmission in the continent.
Formally setting the stage for the meeting, former Botswana Health Minister Joy Phumaphi, now a deputy director of the World Health Organisation and CHGA commissioner, told participants that they aim through these interactive sessions to collect for Secretary General the facts about the fight against HIV/AIDS. She told her audience that it is important for commissioners to hear what civil society say so that their views could be used to advise policy-makers.
She noted that civil society and policy makers find innovative ways of availing PMTC to people rather than just rely on the existing human resources.
Earlier on when officially opening the meeting on behalf of the Minister of Health, the deputy Permanent Secretary in that ministry, Dr Pattson Mazonde, lamented the fact that HIV/AIDS epidemic is severely decimating the young population in Botswana. “To me the death of young people is the death of a country,” he said.
He stated: "HIV/AIDS remains the most important social and public health problem in Botswana and in Sub-Saharan Africa".
Commissioners Alan Whiteside, Milly Katana and Awa Coll-Seck also attended the two-day meeting.
Their report on the impact of AIDS on governance in Africa will be presented to him after three more conferences to be held in Ethiopia, Ghana and the Cameroon.
Participants heavily criticised donors for undermining national coordination bodies. Speakers argued that donors seem to display dictatorship mentality when funding programme. There was duplication of donor driven programmes. The disbursement of donor and government funds should be improved.
Participants at this highly interactive meeting called for the HIV/AIDS campaign to be owned by Africa. They also called on manufacturers of generic AIDS drugs to produce them in the continent at affordable prices.
Commenting on the sustainability of ARV programmes after the donor funds, Joy Phumaphi said African governments must be prepared to commit to the programmes and provide funds.
They called on the UN secretary-general to become the global champion in promoting this. Funding should support national strategic policies and visions.
There were suggestions that HIV/AIDS campaigns had insufficient focus on children, the elderly and those who were HIV negative; of insufficient management capacity, weak coordination mechanisms, untrained and inexperienced counsellors, not enough life skills training.
Participants suggested that there should be more focus on HIV negative people as their future behaviour could help dramatically reduce infection rates”.
For more information contact marx.garekwe@undp.org.
Deputy Permanent Secretary in the
Ministry of Health,Dr Pattson Mazonde,
with members of the Commission
Participants in break-away sessions
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