Abuja AIDS Summit - promises, promises?
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ABUJA, 8 May (PLUSNEWS) - African leaders meeting last week at a
special summit on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, in the Nigerian
capital, Abuja, threw down a challenge to their governments by setting
bold new targets to be achieved by 2010.
At the end of the gathering to review progress in implementing the 2001
Abuja Declaration on AIDS, TB and Malaria, a major resolution was
passed, declaring that at least 80 percent of those in need, especially
women and children, should have access to HIV/AIDS treatment, including
antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, care and support.
Civil society organisations welcomed the "ambitious continental
targets", but it remains to be seen whether these will be met,
particularly when considering how little progress has been made in
implementing goals set in 2001.
Of particular concern is that leaders reiterated their commitment to
devote 15 percent of their national budgets to improving the health
sector, while the African Union (AU) found that Nigeria, Burundi and
Ethiopia scored worst in this respect, having set aside only four,
three and two percent of their annual budgets respectively for health.
Only a third of African countries spend 10 percent of their budget or
more on health, according to an AU report.
"It is really unfortunate that most countries have not reached this
objective - it's proof of a lack of political will," Director-General
of the African Council of AIDS Service Organisations (Africaso)
Tadinane Tall, told PlusNews.
"The 15 percent target set in 2001 was insufficient to address the
challenge with which Africa is confronted, but it was a starting
point," Tall added.
Richard Feachem, head of the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, TB and
Malaria, commented, "Most of the African States do not take the health
sector as seriously as they should - this is the reason they are
lagging behind the 15 percent target."
African countries also pledged that at least 80 percent of pregnant
women would have access to medication for preventing mother-to-child
transmission (PMTCT) by 2010, and at least 80 percent of target
populations would have access to voluntary testing and counselling
services.
The leaders also called on civil society to "enhance their monitoring
role" in implementing the commitments of the Abuja Declaration and
increase their efforts in combating the three diseases.
A number of measures were adopted to ensure that these commitments are
met this time around, which include putting in place mechanisms for
reviewing progress at regional level by 2008, and monitoring progress
by African countries towards reaching the target of allocating 15
percent of their national budgets to health.
Dr Chrispin Kambaili, Medical Director of the International AIDS
Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) Kenya Regional Office, warned: "It will not
be good enough that, like before, we would be unable to meet the new
targets, some of which may not have taken into consideration our
ability to deliver. There will be a need for regular monitoring, so
that we don't have to gather again in 2010 to bemoan our inability to
meet the new targets."
Nevertheless, experts at the summit acknowledged that some progress had
been made in Africa, including an improvement in access to ARVs from
one percent in 2003 to 17 percent in 2005.
--
Claudio Schuftan
mailto:claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn