Africa Still At Ground-Zero Of Global HIV/AIDS Pandemic
November 29, 2006 – 3:27 pm | posted in HIV / AIDSIn response to the release by UNAIDS of its annual “AIDS Epidemic Update”, Africa Action has expressed grave concern at the inadequacy of the international response to this growing global crisis, which continues to have a disproportionate impact in Africa. The organization emphasized that Africa experienced 75% of the global death toll from HIV/AIDS this year, and that spiking infection rates and shrinking life expectancies across the continent reveal a worsening crisis, which the international community is failing to stem.
Nii Akuetteh, Executive Director of Africa Action, said “The sheer scale of Africa’s HIV/AIDS crisis, and the reality of the growing pandemic worldwide, must be a wake-up call to the international community. Unless there is a more urgent response to this global emergency, including a major investment of new human and financial resources and a huge scale-up in effective prevention and treatment programs, HIV/AIDS will continue to race beyond our control, with ever more devastating consequences.”
Africa Action continues to assert that it is no coincidence that HIV/AIDS is most serious in Africa. Akuetteh notes, “The global pattern of this pandemic, concentrated in Africa, reveals massive inequalities in access to wealth, health and other basic rights. The glacial pace of the international response to HIV/AIDS shows a flagrant disregard for African lives, which must be challenged. This is one of today’s most urgent global crises, and it requires a truly urgent global response.”
Africa Action notes UNAIDS’ report that more than 1 million people in Africa were receiving HIV/AIDS treatment by mid-2006, representing a ten-fold increase since December 2003. However, Africa Action emphasizes that the vast majority of those in need of such treatment on the continent still do not receive it.
Ann-Louise Colgan, Director of Policy Analysis and Communications at Africa Action, said “HIV/AIDS treatment is a basic right, and it is a matter of life and death for millions of people living with this disease around the world. Yet in Africa, less than one-quarter of those in need of life-saving HIV/AIDS treatment now have access. The international community has promised universal access by 2010, but this crucial goal will remain elusive without a huge new effort, including significantly increased investment in the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.”
The UNAIDS report also points to apparent erosions of HIV/AIDS gains in Uganda, which had previously been touted as a success story on the continent. Africa Action today expressed concern that the U.S. focus on abstinence-only prevention policies and other ideologically-driven approaches may be undermining effective and comprehensive prevention programs in Uganda and elsewhere. The organization also noted that Africa’s women continue to bear a disproportionate burden of HIV/AIDS, and urged new approaches to address the specific needs of women and girls most vulnerable and affected by this pandemic.
Marie Clarke Brill, Director of Public Education & Mobilization at Africa Action, said “From southern Africa to Washington, DC, HIV/AIDS is a growing challenge, and women are bearing the brunt of this global pandemic. This is a real emergency that must galvanize international action. It is fueling growing activism across the U.S. The numerous events being organized to mark World AIDS Day next week will reveal the strength of the movement to end HIV/AIDS and to get governments to do what’s necessary to turn the tide of this pandemic now.”
On World AIDS Day (Friday, December 1), Africa Action will join its allies at Global Justice, the Student Global AIDS Campaign and other organizations for a major rally outside the White House to call for an urgent international response to the growing HIV/AIDS pandemic. The rally will take place at 2:45pm and will feature live performances from local artists, as well as remarks from leaders in the struggle against HIV/AIDS in Africa and globally. Participants will call for greater support for the Global Fund to fight AIDS, a new initiative on health care workers, and a new international plan to achieve universal access to treatment by 2010.
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