Civil Society Organisations Applaud African Leaders on Abuja Commitments

Press Release issued by the African Civil Society Coalition on HIV and AIDS, 5 May 2006

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BOLD AFRICAN TARGETS SIGNAL AFRICAN SHIFT TOWARDS ACCELERATING ACCESS

ABUJA, NIGERIA--In a bold move, African leaders meeting in Abuja have unequivocally demonstrated their commitment to accelerating access to HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria services in the next five years.

Meeting in Abuja this week, at the Heads of State Summit to review progress towards the implementation of the Abuja Declaration on ATM and other related infectious diseases, leaders adopted ambitious continental targets for implementation of programmes addressing the three diseases.

On the last day of the 3-day Special Summit on AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria organised by the African Union, heads of state drew up two strongly worded documents; the Abuja Call for Accelerated Action Towards Universal access to HIV and AIDS, TB and Malaria, and Africa's Common Position to the High Level meeting of the UNGASS on AIDS.

These documents spell out the areas in which Africa will seek to extend universal access to prevention, care, support and treatment for HIV-related services. The key outcomes of the Summit include commitments to reach:

BOLD TARGETS ACHIEVABLE BY 2010
* at least 80% of pregnant women have access to prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT);
* 5 million AIDS orphans and 80% of orphans and vulnerable children have access to basic services;
* at least 80% of those in need, especially women and children, have access to HIV/AIDS treatment, including antiretroviral therapy as well as care and support;
* ensure that at least 80% of target populations have access to voluntary testing and counselling services
* at least 80% of target populations have access to and are able to use condoms for HIV prevention
* 100% of HIV positive TB patients have access to antiretroviral treatment and access to HIV testing and counselling services

CLEAR ACCOUNTABILTY MECHANISMS
* clear and inclusive mechanisms for the establishment of national targets by December 2006
* a well-articulated mechanism for jointly reviewing progress at the regional level in 2008
* a strong role for national parliaments as well as the pan-African Parliament in reviewing progress on implementation
* monitoring of progress by African countries to reach the 15% target for health allocations in national budgets, as agreed at the 2001 Abuja Declaration of Action

RECOGNITION OF THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY
* a commitment to strengthening – in collaboration with all relevant stakeholders particularly civil society partners affected by the three diseases – planning, monitoring and evaluation of progress;
* a call to civil society within the Call for Accelerated Action, to "enhance their monitoring role" in order to operationalise the commitments made in the Abuja Declaration and to increase their own efforts in the fight against the three diseases

The Summit took on board concerns expressed by activists and officials in many developing countries since the concept of 'Universal Access' was publicly discussed by leaders of the G8 in July 2005.

According to Leonard Okello of ActionAid International, "It is quite commendable that African leaders are committing themselves very strongly to supporting universal access. This is an important demonstration of responsible leadership by our leaders and we are very proud that they have agreed to these targets and taken the concerns of civil society seriously."

Despite the good news, some observers have cautioned that the real work begins now.

As Tidiane Tall of the African Council of AIDS Service Organisations (AfriCASO) notes, "As civil society, we have learned that commitments are important but actions on the ground are even more important. We need to be vigilant - especially at the national level. Governments must know that we are watching them and we will work with them to realise these hopes and aspirations."

The outcome of the Summit demonstrates that African heads of states seek to move beyond the rhetoric of 'Universal Access' by tying themselves to ambitious but realisable goals. As Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo suggested "We have now agreed that we are going to have Universal Access. Some people talk about 80% or 90%. We are talking about 100%."

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Issued by the African Civil Society Coalition on HIV and AIDS
Contacts:
Sisonke Msimang
Programme Manager
Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA)
Email: sisonkem@osisa.org
Tel. +27 11 404 3414/ +27 83 450 7382

Omololu Falobi
Executive Director
Journalists Against AIDS – Nigeria (JAAIDS)
Email: omololu@nigeria-aids.org
Tel. +234 1 7731457/ +234 9 6721744