PRESS CONFERENCE ON LAUNCH OF ‘SECURING OUR FUTURE’ REPORT ON HIV/AIDS IN AFRICA,

BY FORMER PRESIDENT OF ZAMBIA, FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF MOZAMBIQUE

HIV and AIDS must be at the centre of development strategies in Africa, Kenneth Kaunda, former President of Zambia and patron of the Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa, said in New York today.

At a Headquarters press conference to mark the launch of the Commission’s report entitled “Securing Our Future”, President Kaunda said that one of the fundamental findings was that AIDS still seriously challenged Africa’s stability and ability, especially in terms of Governments’ effective response.

President Kaunda, who was joined by Pascoal Mocumbi, former Prime Minister of Mozambique and co-patron of the Commission, said that the report, presented to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at a special event at Headquarters today, noted that modest successes had been achieved in the fight against the pandemic, but said that more needed to be done.

He said thatmore action was needed to secure the well-being of succeeding generations.  The report stressed the need for collective efforts in combating the pandemic and argued that it was by working together that success could be ensured; all stakeholders should join hands in implementing the report’s recommendations.

President Kaunda said that the report provides a wealth of information on the adverse effects of HIV/AIDS in Africa, including the effects on the populations’ productivity.  Africa, particularly Southern Africa, had been the most seriously affected area in the world, and it was to address that situation that the Commission had been set up by former Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2003.

In the past, response by most African Governments to the HIV/AIDS pandemic had been slow, he stated.  That had changed, however, and the trend was also changing in the private-public sector.  The Commission had recognized those welcome developments, but still felt that more needed to be done.

During its work, the Commission consulted widely with stakeholders, including with Governments and civil society, the private sector and individuals, in order to ensure that its findings were representative of the AIDS-related challenges facing society, the President added.

Mr. Mocumbi said he hoped the report would catalyse efforts to address the HIV/AIDS challenge at the country level, with the recommendations guiding adoption of strategies adapted to the realities in individual countries.  He also hoped that the report would strengthen partnerships between Governments and stakeholders, leading to action to reduce the risk of HIV infection.

Responding to a correspondent’s question, President Kaunda said that, during his presidency, he had lost a child to AIDS at a time when it was taboo to talk about the disease.  In order to fight the stigma, his family had made the cause of death public two weeks later.  He now ran the Kenneth Kaunda Children of Africa Foundation, through which he was reaching out to the corners of Zambia and Africa with the message of HIV/AID prevention and running clinics to fight the disease.

On relations between Brazil and Mozambique in the fight against HIV/AIDS, Mr. Mocumbi said that his country had benefited from Brazil through its use of Portuguese-language advocacy materials.  Also, the Brazilian strategy of involving community and non-governmental organizations in preventing infection and expanding access to the means of prevention had been a model for Mozambique, which had integrated the strategy into the training programme for activists.   Mozambique was also exploring ways to achieve self-sufficiency in the local manufacture of antiretroviral medications through technology transfer.

HIV/AIDS did not respect borders, and efforts were ongoing to promote trans-border cooperation to combat the disease, he said.  Strategies had been adopted along the inland corridors in Mozambique, which served neighbouring countries, with the goal of helping all those who travelled along them to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS by using condoms when they engaged in risky sexual relations.

Replying to another question, Mr. Mocumbi said that condoms were the least costly technology for HIV/AIDS prevention and were more accessible than antiretroviral medications.  Thus, Governments had focused on their use.  The cheapest way of preventing infection, however, was to take the personal decision not to infect loved ones.

President Kaunda added that, in Zambia, the emphasis was on reaching out to young people via schools and churches, and many women’s organizations were working very hard in that regard.  The wife of the current Zambian President had been elected Chair of Mothers in Africa, an organization of African first ladies devoted to fighting HIV/AIDS.

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For information media • not an official record