UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé met with the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, Dr Carlos Lopes, on the side-lines of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. They discussed how to support Africa’s HIV response through innovative funding mechanisms and the importance of gathering reliable data, documenting Africa’s potential to produce quality-assured medicines, including antiretroviral drugs.
Dr Lopes said he was committed to strengthening the Commission’s partnership with UNAIDS in order to provide a rigorous and consistent evidence base that can influence the policy debate on AIDS and broader health and development.
The Economic Commission for Africa has a major role to play in Africa’s development. It can transform the development paradigm and ensure Africa’s voice is heard by the G8.
UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé
If Africa does not control the data, it cannot control the development discourse. Our ambition going forward is to strengthen the rigour and pertinence of the knowledge produced by the Commission.
Dr Carlos Lopes, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa
