|  Seven
out of 100 adults are living with HIV/AIDS in Africa. This rate
is substantially higher in Southern Africa, where sexual behaviour,
high domestic violence, and illegal drug use are some reasons for
higher infection risk. Limited access to treatment drugs and lack
of effective educational campaigns to reduce risk of infection remain
serious challenges. Unwillingness to speak out and inadequate commitment
to addressing issues of power relationships between men, women and
youth also hamper the response to the pandemic. Adopting more people-centred
programmes that take sexual behavioural norms and cultural practices
into consideration may help to break the pattern of the disease.
Just as important, however, is treating those already infected with
the disease.6
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African governance at
risk |
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In response to the governance challenge posed by the
HIV/AIDS pandemic, in February 2003 the United Nations
Secretary General Kofi Annan established the Commission
on HIV/AIDS and Governance (CHGA) at ECA headquarters.
It aims to equip African policy makers with the tools
for addressing the profound structural impact that HIV/AIDS
is having on the continent’s capacity to meet
its development challenges. Led by ECA’s Executive
Secretary K.Y. Amoako, CHGA is composed of senior specialists
from the continent and other nations facing similar
challenges. Its full report is scheduled for release
at the end of 2005.Source: ECA (2004b)
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Malaria still accounts for the largest proportion of deaths especially
among children on the continent. Part of the counter-strategy has
been the distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets, which
has increased tenfold since  2000.
Curbing the spread of malaria is a complex challenge that calls
for the involvement of often-ignored urban planners and management:
building ventilated homes; ensuring communities are outfitted with
appropriate drainage systems to avoid mosquito-breeding sites such
as puddles and still water collected in garbage; and ensuring garbage
collection and disposal is performed in a timely and efficient manner,
among other measures.
At least 70 per cent of the 14 million people worldwide living
with HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) – these diseases often
go together – are in Africa. There, the number of new TB cases
per 100,000 population (excluding those that are HIV-positive) nearly
doubled between 1990 and 2003, from 142 to 274. Prevention and treatment
efforts are being scaled up but more can be done to integrate programmes,
especially in the context of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis
and Malaria.
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