ABUJA, Dec 8 (AFP) - It is time to rethink the strategies used so far in the fight against HIV/AIDS as they have shown their limitations, particularly in Africa, according to Michel Sidibe, the Malian who is deputy head of UNAIDS, the body coordinating the fight against the pandemic.
"Sadly, the epidemic continues to spread. There are three reasons for thinking that our strategies and our approaches arent adequate," he told AFP on the sidelines of the 14th International Conference on AIDS in Africa (ICASA) that opened Sunday in Abuja.
"First, every year we see an increase in the number of infections. That proves prevention strategies arent working", he explained.
"Moreover, even if were scared to say so, we havent been able to cut the number of AIDS-linked deaths in Africa and that proves that drugs are not being made available," he added.
In 2005, 2.4 million Africans died in the pandemic.
Currently some 500,000 Africans are on antiretrovirals whereas UNAIDS estimates that a total of 4.7 million children and adults on the worlds poorest continent are in need of such treatment.
Thirdly, Sidibe emphasized two new factors exacerbating the problem: the high rate of infection in women, especially in young women, and the way that children are for the first time being hit by the epidemic.
"There is a danger that the combination of those two factors might create a social catastrophe that could in the long term prove one of the most difficult to manage in Africa. The continents elite have not, as yet, measured the gravity of the danger," he explained.
According to UNAIDS figures, sub-Saharan Africa is home to just over 10 percent of the worlds total population but accounts for more than 60 percent of the total number of people infected by the virus worldwide.
The deputy chief of UNAIDS pointed to a dangerous trend: "Its something one notices even in the West: the new cases of HIV infection are occurring in the poorest sections of society."
In the face of such gloom and doom, Sidibe advocates "a more creative approach, more hands-on and more in keeping with cultural reality" for prevention and better coordination between the different parties in the struggle.
"There is a multitude of actors and a multitude of sources of funding, but no coordination, meaning that public servants and associations spend more time in their offices writing reports and drawing up funding requests than they do implementing projects on the ground", he said.
Sidibe feels that, for it to be effective, the fight against AIDS must go hand in hand with the development of democracy on the continent.
"To manage this type of crisis, one needs a strong and democratic state that has the interest of the public at heart, because without democracy there is no obligation to get results", he said.
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