Washington, D.C. — Three African first ladies, Azeb Mesfin of Ethiopia, Jeanette Kagame of Rwanda, and Maureen Mwanawasa of Zambia, have called for new and further-reaching approaches to combating HIV/Aids on the continent. Their message, delivered at a panel discussion on Tuesday at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C., was presented on behalf of the Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV/Aids, formed in 2002.
The first ladies focused on the importance of giving women, children, and communities special attention when designing national plans for HIV/Aids prevention and treatment. "We all know awareness does not bring about behavioral change," remarked Ethiopian first lady Azeb Mesfin. "Addressing the needs of girls and women would be the best way to reduce poverty," and in turn, HIV/Aids, she said.
Jeanette Kagame, first lady of Rwanda, provided a few practical solutions that new HIV/Aids plans could potentially incorporate, such as testing and ARVs for fathers, job placement systems, economic assistance, and counseling for HIV-positive victims of and rape and trauma. "Women need to have a voice and advocate for education to defend themselves. The answer is to empower them economically," she remarked.
Zambian First Lady Maureen Mwanawasa emphasized the importance of having all donor groups working under the same framework. Donor groups, she noted, work best when they can work together.
The World Bank is not the largest donor for HIV/Aids programs in Africa, but it was one of the earliest to design a multiple-country strategy in its Multi-country HIV/Aids Program. The Bank, recognizing its new role in the changing aid environment, has embarked on a new plan for HIV/Aids from 2007-2011. The new plan will attempt to incorporate ideas from groups like the Organization of African First Ladies as well as civil society organizations.
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In a brief interview with AllAfrica following the discussion, Elizabeth Lule, Manager of the World Bank's AFT-Africa Technical Families and ACTafrica programs, spoke about some of the challenges in making a plan that incorporates grassroots, government, and donor concerns.
"We're talking about … how the relationship between governments and civil society has always been a challenge, and there was reluctance at first for governments to engage civil society. But we have now moved beyond that."
One major challenge, she noted, was "how civil society can be critics and provide constructive criticism for the government when they are partners. I think it differs from country to country and there isn't a solution, but it also depends on the leadership of civil society in those countries to be able to balance the two roles that they play."
Other challenges remain for the Bank as it shapes its new plan. It won't play a leadership role among HIV/Aids donors. One area the Bank has no particular plan for is the crisis of pediatric Aids, a growing concern for countries like Rwanda, host to the International Conference on Pediatric Aids last year.
Lule noted that the World Bank works primarily with the private sector to alleviate pediatric drug costs, but will continue to work with the Clinton Foundation and other initiatives, civil society groups, women, and other stakeholders "to address the issues in scaling up treatment for children."
"We see these challenges as opportunities," Lule said.
