Panafrican News Agency - December 10, 2001

Compaore said this in Ouagadougou Sunday evening at the official opening of the 12th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Africa (ICASA).

The Burkinabe leader noted that the pandemic was relentlessly spreading despite world-wide efforts by policy makers and eminent scientists in recent years.

"While no country is spared by this scourge, Africa is the most affected continent," Compaore said, regretting that while most of the people living with the incurable disease were in the South, its medicine is still confined in the North.

He appealed to countries in the Northern Hemisphere to show further commitment towards combating the scourge and urged all communities to increase efforts to fight the pandemic in their respective areas.

Compaore challenged participants to use the conference as an opportunity to take stock of the African coalition's fight against AIDS and identify new measures to control the disease.

"This requires the sharing of knowledge and experiences in a harmonised and concerted framework," he explained, noting that the meeting should also serve as a platform for consultation and critical analysis of all scientific and medical approaches so as to find an effective response to the disease.

Compaore also urged participants to identify new priorities to improve the management of actions against the pandemic in a purely African context.

He called for innovative alternatives, saying that AIDS was no longer an issue for health specialists only. Compaore called for greater involvement of communities in AIDS control strategies and more solidarity with people living with HIV.

The Burkinabe leader said he was convinced that it was possible to significantly reduce the spread and impact of AIDS in Africa by closely involving communities, youths, civil society and people living with HIV in AIDS control strategies within their respective areas.

Meanwhile, in a message read by the French minister of state for health and humanitarian action, President Jacques Chirac insisted that HIV/AIDS prevention and health care should go hand in hand.

He acknowledged that a lot of work remains to be done to curb the scourge and called on African leaders to build coherent health systems and multiply initiatives.

Chirac expressed France's determination to be involved in the Global Fund against AIDS, in which his country planned to contribute 150 million euros.

In their statement, representatives of African communities, Martine Somda and Cheick Tidiane Tall, criticised their marginalisation by the permanent secretariat of ICASA.

They called for further involvement of community organisations in the identification of AIDS control strategies in Africa, greater involvement of networks in the management of the Global Fund and a greater part in the allocation of resources.

The representatives also demanded a redefinition of the place and role of community organisations in the ICASA organisational chart so as to promote equal partnership based on mutual respect and trust.

Meanwhile, the African communities suggested that ICASA meetings be held once every three years instead of two. They also proposed a review of the eligibility criteria for hosting the meetings, taking into account accommodation capacities, hotel rates and registration charges, which have become unaffordable.

Addressing the meeting UNAIDS executive director, Peter Piot, said that there were now enough AIDS control plans. "2000 and 2001 were years of major plans. 2002 should be the year of major actions," he said, noting that it was time to provide communities and individuals with the prevention and health care means they required.

The theme of the 9-13 December conference is "Community Commitment. Delegates will listen to 1,496 presentations, 351 oral sessions, 700 sessions with projections and 105 round table discussions.

A total of 4,659 participants, including 2,337 representatives from 61 African, European, American and Asian countries. Former presidents Amadou Toumani Tour of Mali and Ghana's Jerry Rawlings are among the high-ranking guests.
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