Massive anti-Aids drive in Addis

Aids orphans from the organisation Dawn of Hope performed a drama at the conference

By Nita Bhalla in Addis Ababa

The largest-ever African driven conference focusing on HIV/Aids in the continent is underway in Addis Ababa this week.

More than 1,500 African leaders, policy makers, civil society organisations and people living with HIV/Aids have converged on the Ethiopian capital to discuss how leaders at all levels can contribute to controlling the pandemic, which has already infected over 25 million Africans.

We should not have allowed it to get to this stage and we therefore have a responsibility to reverse the situation

Charlotte Mjele, 22-year-old victim

Organised by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (Uneca), the African Development Forum (ADF) aims to bring together Africans from all sectors of society to build a consensus on how the deadly pandemic can be tackled.

Organisers of the conference have rebuffed cynicism, promising that it is not just another "talking shop".

K Y Amoako, Uncea Executive Secretary, says the ADF 2000 is different from other conferences.

"It's an African-driven initiative which allows Africans to come together and form a consensus on HIV/Aids. This is the first time that all 53 African states have come together to talk about this issue," he said.

Action orientated

The five-day conference will not only involve discussions and presentations, but will be an action-orientated forum.

There will be breakout sessions, debates and real-life stories from people living with HIV/Aids, to keep delegates focused on the reality of the disease.

At the opening of the Forum on Sunday, Charlotte Mjele, a 22-year-old South African woman with HIV addressed delegates, saying that the pandemic could have been controlled in Africa.

Charlotte Mjele said the disease could have been controlled

"Our continent did not have to be devastated like this by HIV/Aids. We should not have allowed it to get to this stage and we therefore have a responsibility to reverse the situation," she said.

Delegates will discuss the main theme of the event, analysing the role and responsibilities for leaders at all levels in responding to the pandemic.

Leaders in attendance

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is among dignitaries attending the Forum.

Also attending will be the presidents of Botswana, Rwanda and Uganda, the prime ministers of Senegal and Chad, and Malawi's vice-president.

The highlight of the week will be a forum of heads of state on Thursday, which will be kicked off by a keynote address by Mr Annan.

Traditional healers attended the conference

Experts at the conference say that the crisis of HIV/Aids is the single biggest challenge facing Africa today.

Many believe that the level of death, disruption and socio-economic chaos is worse than any famine, war or natural disaster in the continent's history.

Experts add that the disease is not just a health crisis, but also an economic and social crisis.

Aside from the human tragedy, the pandemic has wiped out many of the socio-economic gains of the last three decades:

• life expectancy has decreased;
• health facilities are overwhelmed with 40-70% of beds in urban hospitals occupied by HIV/Aids patients;
• communities have lost their most economically productive human resources and are now burdened with the task of caring for orphans and the elderly;
• Africa's GDP per year has reduced by 0.7% as a result and could decrease by up to 2% more;
• many governments are forced to divert scarce resources from the productive sector to combating the disease and mitigate its worst effects.

Not all serious

But the conference won't just be bogged down with seriousness.

On Wednesday, a concert featured top African artists including Femi Kuti, Hugh Masekela and Ismael Lo.

The aim will be to take the ADF 2000's message beyond the conference hall to a wider group of Africans as the concert will be broadcast in 11 African countries.

Organisers hope that the end result of the Forum will be a general consensus on how to tackle HIV/Aids through leadership in Africa, and agreement on follow up mechanisms of the creation of new strategies and their implementation at national levels.

Photos courtesy of Uneca/Antonio Fiorente