ECA Press Release No. 9/2005
Call to Boost HIV/AIDS Awareness in Africa
Addis Ababa, 2 May 2005 - Policymakers have reiterated the need for Africa to tackle HIV/AIDS by talking frankly about the disease in a bid to educate people.
The call follows a meeting of ECA’s Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa (CHGA) in Casablanca Morocco last week which drew over 100 participants. They discussed challenges caused by the pandemic on the continent and came up with a set of recommendations which will be presented to African leaders and policymakers through a Final Report to be published later this year.
The report will look at five specific areas including prevention and treatment, impact of HIV/AIDS on gender, HIV/AIDS and youth, human capacity, and financing the response to HIV/AIDS.
Participants agreed that to mount an effective response, Africa must close the knowledge gap on HIV/AIDS through a frank assessment of the situation in different regions and countries.
They also stressed that Africa must take urgent action to stop people with HIV/AIDS from dying prematurely, and to prevent healthy people from becoming infected. This should fit into long-term planning for the continent.
“There is no magic bullet or short-cut,” emphasized Nana Poku, CHGA’s research director. “Just as the causes of the AIDS epidemic are complex, so are the responses. No single policy route will change the outcome of the epidemic that is so intertwined with the wider crisis of underdevelopment. “
Participants were at pains to address a message of hope to African leaders. They believed that the epidemic could be brought under control through sustained efforts in prevention, treatment and effective mitigation strategies to deal with the severe loss in human capacity and its impact on the ability of states to function.
CHGA is the first UN Commission to solicit experiences and reflections from actors on all fronts in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Beyond a consultative process, the CHGA Interactive initiative promotes active stakeholder involvement in finding solutions to the disease and its wider effects.
For further details contact:
Fabian Assegid
Communication and Knowledge Coordinator
Commission for HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa (CHGA) United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
P.O.Box 3005, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Tel. +251-1- 45066, Fax. +251-1-512294 Issued by the ECA Communication Team P.O. Box 3001
Addis Ababa Ethiopia Tel: +251-1-44-33-22 Fax: +251-1-51-03-65 Email: ecainfo@uneca.org Web: www.uneca.org
1 of 1 7/16/2014 10:53 AM
