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Civil society organisations applaud African Leaders on Abuja Commitments
Bold African targets signal African shift towards accelerating access
ABUJA
, NIGERIA , May 5 2006 : 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.
The meeting produced bold targets with clear accountabilioty mechanisms and recognized the role of civil society.
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 service
at least 80% of target populations have access to and are able to use
condoms for HIV preventio
100% of HIV positive TB patients have access to antiretroviral
treatment and access to HIV testing and counselling services
Clear accountability 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 buja Declaration and to increase their own
efforts in the fight against the three disease
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 Civil society leaders, ?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.?
According to the African Civil Society Coalition on HIV and AIDS 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
said "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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