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We, the Heads of State and Government of the African Union, meeting at
the Second Ordinary Session of our Assembly in Maputo, Mozambique,
10 -12 July 2003, devoted a special session to review and debate the
current status of the HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB), Malaria and Other
Related Infectious Diseases (ORID) in our continent. We held a Video
Conference with relevant experts and international agencies concerned
with the prevention and fight against these diseases, to exchange views
and discuss further concrete actions which should be taken to curtail
their spread in our countries;
We remain deeply concerned about the continuing spread of HIV/AIDS,
TB, Malaria and ORID, despite the efforts that member states have
exerted to operationalise the commitments made at the Abuja Summits
on Roll Back Malaria (April 2000) and on HIV/AIDS, TB and ORID (April
2001);
We commend the role being played by the African Union (AU), in
collaboration with UNAIDS and its co-sponsoring UN Agencies, the ECA
and other international institutions in coordinating and monitoring the
implementation of these Declarations and Plans of Action. We urge that
these efforts be further developed and strengthened until the scourges
are brought under effective control;
We have analysed the progress achieved so far in prevention and fight
against HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria and ORID, which are the major causes of
morbidity and mortality and constrain the socio-economic development
of our region, accentuating poverty, disrupting family and social fabric
and putting millions of our people in despair. We acknowledge the
successes achieved in some sub-regions in reducing HIV incidence. We
note that this was possible because of political commitment, resource
mobilization, collective social action and a high level of awareness among
our citizens in face of these threats. We urge that these positive steps
and measures be intensified in all our states to achieve greater success
against these diseases;
We note that the majority of those infected with and affected by
HIV/AIDS in our continent are women, children and young people;
especially the poor who have limited access to effective care and support.
This reflects their vulnerability particularly in societies marked by gender
inequality, where the burden of care for the sick and for the children
orphaned by AIDS falls overwhelmingly on women. In this connection, we
recognise the need to redouble efforts in giving particular attention to
women and young people’s participation and access to information, life
skills and services;
We also recognise the inclusion of the HIV/AIDS as a cross-cutting issue
in the New Partnership of Africa’s Development (NEPAD), and the
establishment of other initiatives such as AIDS Watch Africa (AWA), the
Commission for HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa (CHGA) and the
Millennium Development Goals, all of which represent milestones of
progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS. We acknowledge the progress
made in some of our countries in mainstreaming HIV/AIDS into relevant
development frameworks such as Poverty Reduction Strategies Papers
(PRSPs). We urge that these efforts be sustained, strengthened and
extended to all countries;
We note that many Member States have mobilized internal resources and
taken bold leadership steps to confront HIV/AIDS and other health
challenges. We also acknowledge the response by the international
community to the efforts to combat HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria and ORID.
The establishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria
(GFATM), provided a renewed impetus to the programmes and
interventions that Member States designed to combat these diseases.
However considering the gravity of the impact of these diseases which
have together already been declared an emergency, we note that in a
relatively short period of time the GFATM has made significant financial
commitments to concrete programs to fight these diseases in Africa and
disbursements are already underway. However, we underscore the need
for major new and sustainable financing (3 billion US dollars by the end
of 2004) for the Fund from donor nations. These will ensure that
resources made available to fight the diseases rise to a new and more
realistic level given the scale of the epidemics;
We recognize that health systems in our region need to be strengthened,
adequately equipped and financed to provide quality and effective care
against diseases and particularly against HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria and
ORID in view of their devastating effects on society;
We reaffirm our commitment to achieving the goals we set concerning
health sector financing in our states and recommit ourselves to meet the
target of 15% of national budget to be allocated to health. We reiterate
our readiness to mobilize more internal resources for this struggle, in
partnership with the private sector, civil society and all other
stakeholders. We are convinced that the scaling up of health
interventions for HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria and ORID prevention, care
treatment and support can significantly contribute to the overall
reduction of morbidity and mortality and to the improvement of the
quality of life of those infected and affected by these diseases;
We warmly welcome the recent announcement by President George W.
Bush of the United States of America, to provide US dollar 15 billion
within the next five years for the combating of HIV/AIDS in Africa. We
express the hope that the funds will be released in due time to enable the
realization of the set goals and objectives. We call on the US government
to appropriate 3 billion US dollars in 2004, some of which should be
allocated to the Global Fund;
We are aware that provision of quality care, support and treatment to
HIV/AIDS patients are important aspects of prevention and control, and
require coordination and harmonization of policies, strategies and
programs to obtain maximum efficiency and cost-effectiveness. We are
convinced that HIV/AIDS care, support and treatment are essential
components of prevention and control and can help address the stigma
and discrimination associated with this disease and thus significantly
contribute to the reduction of its spread and to the survival of those
infected and affected.
We recognise the urgent need to alleviate the impact of the HIV/AIDS on
the lives of orphans and their long-term development prospects. In this
regard, appropriate policies including legal and programmatic
frameworks, as well as essential services for the most vulnerable
children, should be adopted and applied at all levels. The challenge is to
keep parents alive through effective treatment and prevention as a first
vital step;
WE, THEREFORE, SOLEMNLY:
- REAFFIRM the commitments enshrined in the Abuja Declaration
and Plan of Action on Roll Back Malaria, and the Abuja Declaration
and Framework Plan of Action on HIV/AIDS, TB and ORID and REITERATE our commitment to intensify and consolidate efforts
for their implementation;
- URGE the international community to honour their pledges by
disbursing the funds needed to fully execute the programs for
prevention, care, support and treatment of HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria
and ORID, especially through the Global Fund, the World Bank
Multi-country AIDS Programmes and other initiatives, including
removing conditionalities associated with debt relief and others that
contribute to constraining health sector spending;
- ALSO URGE the Global Fund and recipients of its funding, to work
together to develop simpler and expeditious mechanisms to ensure
that these large additional financial flows are quickly and easily
available to institutions in Africa that can utilize them effectively in
the fight against the diseases. We further urge the Global Fund,
UNAIDS family and the recipient countries to work together to
ensure the realization of our common objectives;
- EXPRESS OUR DETERMINATION to ensure that all opportunities
for scaling up treatment for HIV/AIDS are pursued energetically
and creatively, and in this connection, seek diverse and effective
partnerships with international donors, civil society, business
sector and people living with HIV/AIDS, in order to extend effective
care, support and treatment to the maximum number of people,
particularly women, orphaned children and others made vulnerable
by HIV/AIDS, in conformity with the principles of equal access and
gender equity;
- COMMIT OURSELVES to promote partnerships with the private
sector and relevant UN Specialised Agencies, pharmaceutical
companies and other partners to increase local and regional
capacity for production and distribution of affordable generic
pharmaceuticals for the management of HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria
and ORID - the diseases with the highest impact on Africa’s socioeconomic
development;
- RESOLVE to continue to support the implementation of the Plan of
Action for the AU Decade for African Traditional Medicine (2000 –
2010), especially research in the area of treatment for HIV/AIDS,
TB, Malaria and ORID;
- REQUEST the Chairperson of the AU in collaboration with UNAIDS
and its joint UN Co-sponsoring Agencies, ECA and other partners,
to coordinate and intensify efforts among Member States, monitor
implementation of this Declaration and report regularly to our
Assembly.
“WE BELIEVE THAT HIV/AIDS, TB, MALARIA AND ORID CAN, MUST AND WILL BE DEFEATED!”
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