Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) - June 2, 2006
Belinda Beresford

In a statement released on the second day of the United Nations Special Assembly on HIV/Aids (Ungass) in New York, the African Civil Society Coalition on Aids (Acsca) accused the negotiators of the three countries of a "remarkable display of bad faith" in failing to support targets of universal access to treatment, care and support agreed on by the African Union heads of state last month.

Sisonke Msimang, representing Acsca, said the Africa group, headed by Gabon, was flagrantly violating the "common position" and had proposed that any reference to vulnerable groups, or the empowerment of girls, be removed from the final Ungass declaration.

"Vulnerable groups" is code for gays, sex workers and intravenous drug users. One of the most contentious debates has been over these issues, and rights for women and girls, as conservative countries say they do not want to give legitimacy to groups who violate national cultural or religious beliefs.

Gabon has been speaking for the African bloc as part of an informal rotation among the African country delegations at the UN.

The "common position" was approved by African Union heads of state last month in preparation for the five-yearly Ungass meeting. Themed "Universal Access to HIV/Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria Services by 2010", this document commits the AU states to a number of policies and operational targets.

These include a 25% reduction in HIV prevalence among 15- to 24-year- olds; providing 80% of orphans and vulnerable children with access to basic services; giving at least 80% of pregnant women access to prevention of mother-to-child transmission programmes; and ensuring that 80% of those in need, particularly children, "have access to HIV/Aids treatment, especially antiretrovirals, as well as care and support". Among developing countries, 80% access is considered universal.

The criticisms were rejected by South Africa's Ministry of Health, which said it fully supported targets of universal access to treatment, care and support for HIV/Aids sufferers.

However, ministry spokesperson Sibani Mngadi said the government was concerned about setting numerical targets, given the difficulty and lack of resources many countries faced in combating Aids.

Mngadi said it had been estimated it would cost $23-billion to meet the targets of universal access for 2010, and there were concerns about funding and its sustainability in the long term. "It is not only about setting targets; we need to make sure that the systems and processes are in place. We believe [you] need to align the targets accordingly ... We agree on the objective of universal access."

Mngadi was speaking from New York, where South Africa's Minister of Health, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, is attending the three-day Ungass session.

The conference is the key international meeting to assess global progress in combating HIV/Aids, and sets the tone for the years ahead. Decisions and documents emanating from Ungass are fiercely fought over by the government and NGOs, both at the meeting and during the lengthy informal pre-meeting negotiations.

Africa's "common position" was a head-of-state-approved document, designed to represent the interests of AU members at Ungass. But Acsa complained bitterly that "bureaucrats and officials at the UN review are refusing to acknowledge these commitments".

The coalition added: "Nigeria is the only African country that has openly spoken out against the undermining of the African common position. Not a single other African state has followed suit, despite repeated information notes from the AU secretariat, informing New York-based African negotiators about the existence and importance of the common position.

"Instead, silence and apathy have mired the African bloc, and rendered the bloc of more than 50 AU member states virtually silent for the duration of the negotiations."

Mngadi said the South African delegation fully supported all the rights guaranteed in the Constitution and was very concerned about the need to protect women and girl children, given the "feminisation" of HIV/Aids in Africa. He said the South African government was pleased about the prominence of prevention issues at Ungass and that there would be further discussions on the sustainability of funding from development partners.

There was concern at the conference that while huge amounts of money are being asked for and pledged, they do not always arrive. A special concern for countries without the resources to supply universal access was what would happen if donors failed to continue to provide the funding.

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