African Leaders meet in Nigeria to fight HIV/AIDS, TB, Malar

[Richard Akindele]

As African leaders gather in Nigeria come May 2006, to identify new strategies to fight the continent’s heavy disease burden, stakeholders have called for universal access to prevention, care and treatment of AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (ATM).

In a press conference addressed by the African Committee on ATM on Tuesday at Internews Networks Nigeria, the A.U. insists that there will no longer be declarations, but a new call to accelerated action against AIDS, TB and malaria.

Chairman of the AU conference on ATM, tagged Abuja plus, Dr. Nasir Sani – Gwazo told journalists during the parley that issues to be discussed include the progress report on the Abuja 2001 and 2005 declarations, best practices on HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria in Africa.


Other issues the conference will focus on are the institutional factors in Africa, social cultural determinants and impact, health financing in Africa, all with a view to scaling up activities towards universal access to HIV, which should be extended to TB and malaria.


According to Sani – Gwazo, some of the emerging key issues of the African disease burden is the need for an urgent and extraordinary action on the part of African leaders to effectively tackle the diseases and extension of framework of scaling up towards universal access to prevention, treatment, care and support for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria by 2010. Gwauazo explained that the AU Summit Committee has prepared six documents which will guide the delegates drawn from all the 53 African countries for discussion.


“The documents have not been prepared for delegates to just come and sign, but for them to use as a guide. At the end of the day, they could be adopted, torn apart or completely thrown away in the course of deliberations at the summit�, the chairman stated.


Critical issues to be discussed at the summit include health financier in Africa, sustainability and predictability of funding, institutional challenges to health systems, human resources challenges, institutionalization of development and initiatives, countrywide strategies and initiatives and national ? ? ?


Robert Makombe, charged the African media to be really very critical of government policies as they affect ATM, monitor and report to the society what governments policies on health issues are and if the African leaders are keeping their promises as they relate to ATM and other health matters.


“The press must be really critical of the state of government policies and actions. Everybody living in this continent should have access to prevention, care and treatment for AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria�, Makombe insisted.


The Resident Advisor of Internews Networks Nigeria, Josephine Kamara, said her establishments is committed to training journalists in Nigeria to report accurately on health issues, particularly on HIV/AIDS, child survival, tuberculosis and malaria as well as other health related issues like population among others.

Source : Daily Independent (Nigeria)

[Richard Akindele]

www.chinaview.cn 2006-05-03 02:49:32

ABUJA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) special summit on Aids, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria (ATM) opened here on Tuesday, with Nigeria's Minister of State for Health Halima Alao expressing concern on the loss of Africa's human resources in the field of health.

Alao said this remained a critical challenge in Africa because the continent was the worst hit by the global shortage of doctors,nurses, midwives and support workers.

"This shortage is unevenly distributed and it is no surprise that the deficit is greatest in Africa where there is the greatest need," she said at the three-day summit which saw a gathering of AU's permanent representatives and experts from within and outside the Africa continent.

Alao said the development called for somber reflection as only one in 25 of the global total health workers were in Sub-Saharan Africa.

She said this was against the backdrop that Africa "has only one tenth of the world's population, but carry a quarter of the global diseases burden and less than 1 percent of the world's financial resources for health."

She added that there was need to find out what could be done differently to increase access to effective measures against ATM.

Alao said it was important to ensure that necessary vaccines and drugs for ATM treatment and prevention were manufactured within the continent while the use of traditional medicines and remedies should be explored.

[Richard Akindele]

The Minister of State for Health, Mrs Halima Tayo Alao has said recent studies have shown that at least four million people die in Africa annually as a result of HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis, all of which are disease burdens most prevalent in the continent.

The minister who was sdelivering a keynote address at the special summit of the Africa union on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria which kicked off yesterday in Abuja, said Africans must rise up collectivelly to tackle the three diseases.
According to the minister who said that these disease burdens continue to account for the high level of economic set backs in the continent, the shortage of well trainned work force also contributes to the high mortality rate in the region.
"It is common knowledge that although Africa contains slightly more than a tenth of the world's population, she carries more than a quarter of the world disease burden. The most critical contributions to this situation are the HIV/AIDS,TB, and Malaria which together cause four million deaths every year.

"Human resources for health remain a particularly critical challenge. Health work force shortages are a crisis is not only in Africa as shown in global shortage. It is however not a surprise that the deficit is greatest in Africa where there is the greatest need. Only one in 25 of the global tottal health workers are currently in sub-saharan Africa",
the minister said. In his remark, Ambassador of Congo Republic, Ambassador Bale Serge who is the Chairperson of the Permanent Representive Committee (PRC) thanked the president Olusegun administration for convening the summit. He however enjoined African heads of state to go beyond mere pronouncements to taking concrete steps to mitigate the level of disease burdens within the region. This he said is the carnel of a prosperous African society.

The summit is attended by delegates from across the frican continent.

Source: Thisday