Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Reuters NewMedia - Sunday December 3, 2000
Former South African President Nelson Mandela is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the meeting which later in the week will also host U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan .
"The forum will promote policies and mechanisms that harness the efforts of government, private sector and civil society in the design and implementation of intervention programs," the U.N.'s Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) said in a statement.
"It will influence policy shifts at the national level and seek to impress upon leaders the urgency of advocacy and action," said the ECA which is organizing the meeting.
Also to be spotlighted are the role and responsibilities of Africa's external partners in fighting a disease the U.N. says will roll back the little gains Africans have made since becoming independent.
"In parts of Africa, AIDS is killing one in every three adults, making orphans out of every tenth child and decimating entire communities, directly affecting the health and life expectancy, the labor force and household security," the ECA said.
Annan will deliver the keynote address on Thursday when African heads of state will meet for a day-long forum.
Under the theme 'AIDS -- The Greatest Leadership Challenge', the meeting will try to define the leadership role and duties of African governments who have some 25.3 million of their people living with AIDS.
Aids Deaths Hampering Future African Growth
Leaders expected to attend the five-day meeting include Botswana's President Festus Mogae whose country is estimated to have the highest rate of HIV infection in the world.
Also due are President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda which has waged one of the most visible and successful fights against AIDS/HIV infection, and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda.
Senegal is expected to send Prime Minister Moustapha Niasse and Vice President Justin Malewezi will represent Malawi. Chadian Prime Minister Nagoum Yomassoum arrived on Saturday.
A United Nations report released last week says the cost of treating AIDS patients, the loss of experienced workers to the disease and subsequent restrictions on investment will all hamper African growth in the decades ahead.
Some 3.8 million children and adults were infected this year. Since the start of the epidemic 12.1 million African children have been orphaned and in 10 years it is projected the number will rise to 40 million.
In the last year 2.4 million Africans died of HIV-related causes, bringing the death toll on the continent to over 15 million -- more than three-quarters of the world total.
The UNAIDS report says the cost to governments of providing even the most basic treatment for Africa's AIDS patients is escalating and in many countries already exceeds two percent of gross domestic product.
"Over and above the personal suffering that accompanies HIV infection wherever it strikes, the virus in sub-Saharan Africa threatens to devastate whole communities, rolling back decades of progress toward a healthier and more prosperous future," the UNAIDS report said.
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