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A co
mmission set to study the impact of HIV/Aids on Africa's state
structures and economic development will be launched in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia, tomorrow.
The Commission on HIV/Aids and governance in Africa (CHGA) is
chaired by K Y Amoako, the executive secretary of the Economic
Commission for Africa (ECA).
ECA is the regional arm of the United Nations established in 1958
to support economic and social development of its member states,
foster regional integration, and promote international cooperation
for Africa's development.
A statement from ECA said world leaders, including former President
Kenneth Kaunda and Prime Minister Pascoal Mucumbi of Mozambique,
two of the Patrons of CHGA, would attend the event.
CHGA is an initiative announced by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
in February.
It is mandated to complement UN's vital work on transmission and
prevention and other agencies with policies and programmes to
mitigate the socio-economic impact of HIV/Aids on African
states.
According to reports, the epidemic is concentrated in Africa, which
has some 70% of the people living with HIV/Aids across the
world.
According to the latest Unaids figures, an estimated 20-million
Africans have died since the start of the HIV/Aids epidemic. A
further 29,4-million are presently living with the virus.
Speaking on the economic impact of the disease recently, CHGA
programme director Alex de Waal said a study in South Africa had
indicated that by the year 2020, the level of GDP could be lowered
by 17% due to HIV/Aids; while the level of per capita GDP could be
lower by seven per cent.
“The core challenge for CHGA research is to capture the
complex linkages between human capacity losses at the micro level
(households), their relationship to the core indicators of economic
growth at the macro level and crucially, their likely implications
for inter-generational survival of families, communities and
states,” the Commission said in a statement.
CHGA's work will culminate in a Final Report in June 2005, to
analyse the governance and development threats posed by the
pandemic and contain policy options for mounting an effective
response.
CHGA will also address the implications of scaling up
antiretroviral therapies for health systems capacity and structures
in Africa and advise African policy makers on how to address the
profound structural impacts that HIV/Aids is having on their
abilities to tackle Africa's development challenges.
The commission said work would also focus on a range of issues,
including the requirements for resource mobilisation, economic
policy choices and capacity building. “The report will also
be a key tool for further advocacy and policy engagement,” it
said.
CHGA's advocacy work will be channeled through the 20 commissioners
appointed by Annan to support K Y Amoako.
Among the 20 commissioners are Richard Feachem, the executive
director of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB and Malaria, the
director-general of Opec Fund Seyyid Abdulai, Peter Piot, the
executive director of Unaids, Mamphele Ramphele, managing director
of the World Bank and Joy Phumaphi, the assistant director-general
of the World Health Organisation (WHO). – BuaNews.
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