Addressby Milly Katana, CHGA Commissioner

14 October 04
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Mr Executive Secretary,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me first say how delighted I am by this opportunity to address you today, on an issue that has touched the lives of each and every one of us, and which poses the biggest challenge to Africa today: HIV /AIDS.

Unlike the many other development problems facing Africa, the HIV I AIDS epidemic is unique. It kills people in the prime of their lives, restructuring our populations, and destroying skills that are much needed for the development of our continent. The HIV I AIDS epidemic is both an immediate crisis and a long-term developmental challenge, which demands innovative policy responses. Specific challenges to be addressed include state capacity (in sectors such as education, health, the armed forces, etc.), the gender impacts of the epidemic, the challenge of empowering young people, and maintaining the livelihoods of the poor and vulnerable.

How do we respond to these challenges? The advent of effective and affordable anti- retroviral therapy - ART -, combined with substantially increased international funds for providing treatment and care, presents a new opportunity for responding to the epidemic. Today, prolonging the lives of millions of people living with my and AIDS is not only a moral imperative but also an important practical and necessary response to the governance problems entailed by the epidemic.

As the funding for ART grows, an array of new challenges presents itself. How is the capacity in health systems to be built up? What modalities are to be employed to ensure the most effective stewardship of resources? How are competing demands on limited funds to be reconciled in line with best practices for development partnership? How are treatment regimes to be made sustainable? Meanwhile, it is essential that a focus on prevention is also maintained.

The epidemic is an exceptional situation, which demands an exceptional response.

CHGA

Under the Chairmanship of the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Mr K. Y Amoako, the Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa represents the first occasion on which the continent most affected by HIV/AIDS is leading an effort to examine the epidemic in all its aspects and likely future implications.

The mandate, and also the challenge for the Commission is to provide the data, clarify the nature of the choices facing African governments today, and help consolidate the design and " implementation of policies and programmes that can help contain the pandemic in order to support development and foster good governance.

Research and analysis being carried out by a number of research partners will help us to understand both how the epidemic unfolds on the continent, and also what we can do to address it. But we also have another mandate. CHGA is designed to be an 'advocacy commission.' This means that CHGA will go beyond a technical exercise in research and analysis, and will also engage with policymakers and other stakeholders during its lifetime.

The Commission's work is guided by twenty individuals, African and non-African, drawn from different backgrounds and institutions. We are united by a profound and common concern that it is imperative to respond to the HN / AIDS epidemic rapidly, effectively and at scale.

Our commitment is marked by a spirit of activism, seeking to engage with a wide range of stakeholders at all levels during the lifetime of the Commission and thereby to spur action. The Commission will present a final report in June 2005. However, it breaks new ground among international commissions in that its members have committed themselves to presenting views and decisions to key policymakers without delay. Already, in the middle of our work, we are discussing how to approach African leaders and development partners, about ensuring that HIV / AIDS epidemic and its impacts are fully accommodated for within the fiscal, macro-economic and development partnership frameworks; those currently in place as well as those which may be formulated in the future.

We call upon this forum to work with us and renew the commitment to meeting what may be the greatest; challenge that our continent has faced to date.

Thank you.

Back to Top

Home | Contact | Partners | Related Links