Af-Aids Forum (Aids Forum)
5 March 2002
document
Addis Ababa — A report by a correspondent of Af-Aids Forum from the third African Development Forum in Addis Ababa, Maaaarch 3-8, 2002</i>
"The HIV/AIDS pandemic is a survival issue not just for tens of millions of Africans, but also for some of our nations themselves... The HIV/AIDS pandemic will test those survival skills to the limit, but I have no doubt that Africa will overcome this pandemic, hopefully sooner rather than later."
- Abdul Mohammed, Keynote Presentation
The third African Development Forum (ADF III), organized by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in collaboration with the OAU, is taking place from the 3rd of March to the 8th of March 2002 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The theme of the Forum is "Defining Priorities for Regional Integration", in the light of the impending creation of the proposed African Union.
A pre-Forum Symposium was held on Sunday the 3rd of March 2002, to discuss the detail, progress and objectives of a proposed African Union. Over 400 participants attended the symposium. Three issues were discussed, viz.
Economic integration; peace, security, humanitarianism and human rights; and institutional structure and capacity. Most delegates here agree that in the light of globalization, there is a need for an African Union.
But what does a proposed African Union mean for HIV/AIDS in Africa. There were three issues raised in the presentations of the morning that would impact on HIV/AIDS in Africa.
First, that an integrated African Union would have a much more powerful bargaining power in terms of trade, and thus by implication, with pharmaceutical companies in relation to HIV/AIDS drugs and treatment for opportunistic infections.
Secondly, there are greater possibilities to share experiences and "roll-out" successes, including those achieved with HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support.
And thirdly, there was mention of common markets within the African Union.
This then raises the question on what the implication of a common market would be on the HIV/AIDS pandemic, taking into consideration the free movement of people?
These issues will be further explored and discussed in the ADFII HIV/AIDS Focus group over the next few days. Delegates here are in no doubt about the amount of work that needs to be done here in the interim, to debate the concerns, possibility and sustainability of a proposed African Union.(ADF3)
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