Commonwealth assists countries with UN recommendations on HIV

The socio-economic barriers to HIV prevention, treatment and support, were discussed at a two-day regional consultation conducted by the Commonwealth Secretariat in partnership with the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and hosted by Botswana’s Ministry of Health.

Organised in Botswana’s capital, Gaborone, last month, the consultation on ‘Improving access to HIV and AIDS treatment, prevention, care and support - the social and economic dimensions’ allowed the Commonwealth Secretariat to explore ways for turning the recommendations and main outcomes of the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AIDS, held on 8-10 June 2011, into practical actions in the region.

The consultation brought together ministry of health officials, national AIDS programme directors, managers and co-ordinators from Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

Dr Mbololwa Mbikusita-Lewanika, Health Adviser for the Secretariat, said: “There are great advantages in coming together to chart the way forward, sharing ideas and supporting one another.

“No doubt individual country strategies and programmes will benefit from the input, energy and momentum from other countries. We therefore hope that participants will have left this consultation with some robust ideas to strengthen their own strategies of implementing the UN High-Level outcomes.”

Botswana’s Minister of Health Reverend Dr John Seakgosing opened the consultation, which was also attended by Gilbert Mangole, Member of Parliament and Chair of the Botswana Parliamentary Committee on HIV/AIDS, representatives of civil society groups, and persons living with HIV.

The UN meeting recognised the fundamental necessity of addressing the socio-economic barriers to universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and support; and the consultation allowed participating countries to discuss its recommendations in the context of their own national and regional responses to the epidemic.

UNAIDS Regional Support Team Director for East and Southern Africa Professor Sheila Tlou addressed the consultation on the plan launched at the UN meeting that emphasises the need to reduce AIDS-related maternal mortality, as well as the number of orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV, and consequential social issues.

“Universal access is a metaphor for social justice, for fundamental human rights, and for global solidarity,” she said.

UNAIDS Regional Support Team Deputy Director for East and Southern Africa Dr Mbulawa Mugabe told the consultation that an annual investment of US$22billion is needed by 2015 to avert 12 million HIV infections and 7.4 million deaths.

Research and case studies presented during the consultation by the Human Sciences Research Council based in South Africa, and the Botswana Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (BONEPWA), as well as findings from a pan-Commonwealth research project on unpaid HIV care work commissioned by the Secretariat, highlighted the need for: increased financial and technical support for people living with HIV at household-level; cross-cutting activities and multi-level prevention and intervention programmes to reduce stigma and discrimination; and ensuring that the dignity and human rights of people living with HIV are upheld, as these will assist in improving access to services and contribute to the cost-effectiveness of programmes.

During the consultation countries examined pertinent human rights issues which have an impact on universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, support and care. They also reviewed national frameworks for addressing HIV stigma and discrimination, innovative plans to mobilise and use resources, as well as best practices and lessons learned. The issues highlighted during these reviews and the methods identified to operationalise the UN meeting’s 2011 UN Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS will inform national HIV/AIDS strategy reviews as well as national consultations.

Dr Mbikusita-Lewanika said: “In responding to the epidemic, the Secretariat encourages a multi-sectoral and rights based approach, which puts some of the most vulnerable groups, such as women and young people, at the centre of the agenda.

“The Commonwealth recognises the linkages between development and health: poverty, gender inequality, human resource constraints, democracy and governance – are not just development issues but also critical in the health agenda.”

She added that assisting countries in responding effectively to the UN recommendations was of critical importance as many countries most affected by the HIV epidemic are Commonwealth member states, and that about two-thirds of those living with HIV are in the Commonwealth.