In her address to the Assembly, UNAIDS
Deputy Executive Director Mrs. Deborah
Landey commended the organization for
its success in bringing women’s issues to
the forefront, particularly the focus on
preventing mother to child transmission
of HIV.The Organisation of African First Ladies against HIV and AIDS (OAFLA), held their 5th Extra Ordinary General Assembly in Addis Ababa from 1-2 February. More than 30 first ladies (or their high level representatives) attended the assembly which was held in parallel with the African Union Summit.
The First Lady of Ethiopia and Vice President of OAFLA, Madam Azeb Mesfin, (also hosting meeting) gave the opening remarks, followed by the First Lady of Zambia and Acting OAFLA President Maureen Mwanawasa, who urged her peers to reflect on the successes of the organization whilst planning carefully for future activities.
In her address to the Assembly, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director Mrs. Deborah Landey commended the organization for its success in bringing women’s issues to the forefront, particularly the focus on preventing mother to child transmission of HIV. Ms. Landey stressed that significant progress had been achieved in Africa over the last decade both in terms of providing anti-retroviral treatment and in reducing HIV prevalence.
The Deputy Executive Director of UNAIDS also encouraged the First Ladies to continue their campaigns to mobilise action on preventing new infections which still remains a major challenge. “HIV prevention is the key. It is a highly complex issue. But this can be no excuse for inaction. We still have a long, long way to go to make HIV prevention truly effective,” said Ms Landey.
Elizabeth Mataka, UN Special Envoy in
Africa, urged OAFLA members and leaders
at all levels to take collective responsibility
in the fight against AIDS.Elizabeth Mataka, UN Special Envoy in Africa, urged OAFLA members and leaders at all levels to take collective responsibility in the fight against AIDS. “Each of us here today has considerable influence and we have a duty and a responsibility to lend our support, advocacy and leadership to build on the extraordinary response that has so far been mobilised.”
The UN special envoy also encouraged the organisation to seek support from major funding organisations such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The Global Fund Board is now requesting countries to take particular note of the vulnerabilities of women and girls as they put forward their proposals for Round 8 funding and beyond.
