Int'l AIDS forum urges greater access to care in Africa

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, September 22, 2003

Int'l AIDS forum urges greater access to care in Africa

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The 13th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA), the biggest regional forum on the continent's AIDS problem, urged for greater access to care for those affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa at its opening ceremony in Nairobi on Sunday.

Under the theme "Access to Care: Challenges," the 13th ICASA brought together scientists, social and political leaders and other people who share their experiences and current trends in the management of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) from an African perspective.

At the opening ceremony which started at 4 p.m. (1300 GMT), Dundu Owili, chairman of the ongoing 13th ICASA called upon scientists and policy makers to work hard in the provision of care to people living with HIV/AIDS.

"We must also not loose sight of the fact that the scientists need to work hand in hand with policy makers in the ongoing efforts to fight HIV/AIDS and in the provision of care to people living with HIV/AIDS," Owili said.

"We would like to appeal for more international collaboration and increased resource flows to build capacity, raise research output and stimulate utilization of results," he said.

Stephen Lewis, the UN secretary-general's special envoy for AIDS in Africa, chose the topic of AIDS orphans under the theme of Access to Care in his speech at the opening of the 13th ICASA, underlining that orphans in Africa need more care from the governments and society.

"I will use this opportunity instead to pursue the theme of Access to Care in the context of children orphaned by AIDS, and other vulnerable children," he said.

"I choose to focus on orphaned children because they remain perhaps the most intractable of all issues related to care and support," Lewis explained.

While officially opening the 13th ICASA, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki noted that the theme of this conference "could not have been more appropriate."

The president also listed the obstacles that have continued to impede access to care, including stigma, lack of affordable life-supporting drugs and poverty.

Kibaki appealed to multinational drug manufacturers to ease their opposition to free trade on generic drugs, or drastically lower prices of their products.

"As part of access to care, we must give special attention to the needs of the millions of orphaned children in Africa. These children need parental care, food, shelter, education and health care. Governments must work closer with communities, to share thisburden," said Kibaki.

"The choice we make today, as individuals, will determine how effective the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic will be," he said.

On Sunday afternoon, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) issued here a report entitled "Accelerating Action Against AIDS in Africa," indicating that despite increased political attention, Africa's AIDS fight remains only half funded.

Not enough money poses a major obstacle to the implementation and expansion of urgently-needed prevention and care programs, said the UNAIDS report.

While an increasing number of leaders of African and donor nations are demonstrating a greater willingness to address HIV/AIDS in Africa, the total funding anticipated is only half of what will be needed to effectively confront the epidemic on the continent in 2005, said the UNAIDS report.

The report also said that limited treatment access and gender disparities fuel AIDS in Africa.

Previously on Saturday the International Women's AIDS Run, Kenya's largest ever mass-participation road race, was held to celebrate the opening of ICASA and the strength that African womenbring to the struggle against the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Africa is home to only 10 percent of the world's population and yet more than 70 percent of the people infected with HIV/AIDS livein Africa.

At least 60 million Africans have been directly impacted by HIV/AIDS: 30 million people are living with the deadly virus, more than 15 million have died from it, and more than 11 million have lost at least one parent to the epidemic.

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