Conference room one united in song this morning as President Kenneth Kaunda gave his keynote address at the ADF IV plenary session on “The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Africa’s Capacity to Govern”. After making an impassioned plea for strong action from African governments and leaders at all levels to reverse the continuing rise in HIV/AIDS infections, Dr. Kaunda asked the hall to join him in “singing Nkrumah’s song:”

Sons of Africa rise and fight
Daughters of Africa rise and fight
We shall fight and conquer AIDS

He described the epidemic as a “crisis, which I feel, should be declared as an emergency requiring extra- ordinary and urgent measures to address; a crisis that not only needs the urgent attention of our Governments but more importantly, their commitment to act.”

He noted that stigmatization was still preventing many people living with HIV/AIDS from seeking treatment and counseling and called for high-level political leadership to encourage openness. He referred to his own example in 1986, when he was still president of the Republic of Zambia after the death of his son through AIDS-related illness. To the surprise of many, President Kaunda called a press conference at which he announced to the world the cause of his son’s death. Kaunda is now patron of the UN Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa (CHGA).

The second plenary today was titled “Mutual Accountability and Good Governance in Africa: The role of Development Partners.” The session was chaired by the Executive Secretary Mr K.Y. Amoako and the panelists were Gerald Ssendaula, Uganda’s Minister of Finance and Economic Development; Anna Maria Agnes van Ardenne-van der Hoeven, the Netherlands Minister for Development Cooperation; Ambassador Bengt Save-Soderbergh from Sweden; Richard Carey, deputy director of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee (OECD/DAC); Ambassador Shinsuke Horiuchi from Japan; and Dave Fish, director of the Africa Department at the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development.

Mr. Ssendaula called on development partners to live up to their numerous commitments to Africa, particularly regarding the quality and quantity of development assistance. He also said the deep reforms carried out by many African countries such as Uganda have not resulted in the expected increase in foreign direct investment but rather in an increase in domestic debt levels. He called for a 100 percent debt relief to Africa so the continent can start with a clean slate.

Ms. van Ardenne-van der Hoeven said the Netherlands had already met its commitment to provide 0.7% of its GDP in development assistance and will use its current presidency of the European Union to press other countries to follow suit. She said it was important for development partners to harmonize all their policies towards Africa to ensure positive outcomes. She particularly cited the European Common Agricultural Policy as particularly harmful to Africa; as are policies on generic drugs and immigration. She called on OECD countries to work towards a fairer international trading system by achieving a development outcomes in the forthcoming Hong Kong meeting of the World Trade Organization.

The third plenary session of the day was the closing of the Beijiing + 10 Ministerial Conference.