COORDINATING COMMITTEE MEETING REPORT

Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
2-4 May 2001

 

 Table of Contents

I. Background
II. Opening remarks
III. Headquarters and Secretariat for The Alliance
IV. Alliance statutes
V. Resource mobilisation
VI. UNAIDS Inter-Country Team for West and Central Africa
VII. AMICAALL process and UN Partnership Programme
VIII. Summary of Co-ordinating Committee actions

Annex 1: List of participants
Annex 2: Agenda
Annex 3: Opening remarks of Mr. Ernest N’koumo Mobio
Annex 4: Opening remarks of Ms. Mina Mauerstein-Bail
Annex 5: Opening remarks of Prof. Djeha
Annex 6: Statutes
Annex 7: Resource mobilisation: strategic orientation plan
Annex 8: Summary conclusions

 

I. Background

Since the launch of the Alliance Mayors and Municipal Leaders on HIV/AIDS in Africa in January 1998, efforts have been made to create a solid foundation for partnerships between local governments, civil society organisations, including the private sector and community leaders, and to launch community based programmes in countries. This has been done through adopting a workplan and program strategy, resource mobilisation and network development, publishing a newsletter, and providing support for the launching of National Chapters of the Alliance. For more background and details on the creation and evolution of the Alliance, the following two reports are available: Xth International Conference on HIV/AIDS and STDs in Africa, The Alliance of Mayors and Municipal Leaders on HIV/AIDS in Africa: Summary Reports--Symposium on HIV, Development and the Role of Local Government, Abidjan, 9 December 1997 and Meeting with Mayors and Municipal Leaders Africities Meeting, Abidjan, 29 January 1998 and The Alliance of Mayors and Municipal Leaders on HIV/AIDS in Africa Second Symposium Special Session on HIV/AIDS Report, Africities Meeting, Windhoek, Namibia, 17 May 2000.

This report is a summary of the most recent meeting of the Alliance Co-ordinating Committee and invited experts. The Alliance was created by Mayors and Municipal Leaders in the region to promote multi-sectoral action at the local level through partnerships with Civil Society in response to the dramatic increase in HIV/AIDS in the region. The purpose of this working meeting was to follow up on the mandate given to the Committee by the Alliance General Assembly at the Africities Conference in May 2000. Various supporting documents are annexed which include a list of participants, agenda, opening statements, the modified statutes, the resource mobilisation strategic orientation plan, and a summary conclusions announcing the meeting outcomes.

 

II. Opening Remarks

Presentations were given by Ernest N'Koumo Mobio, the Mayor of Abidjan and Co-ordinator of the Alliance; Mina Mauerstein-Bail, Director of the UN AMICAALL Partnership Programme, executed by the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in collaboration with UNAIDS; and Professor Djeha, Director of Cabinet and Representative of the Ministry of AIDS in Côte d'Ivoire. Representatives of UNDP, WHO UNAIDS, NGOs, and the local media attended the opening session of the meeting.

Mayor Mobio spoke of the devastating socio-economic impact of the epidemic on African societies. He emphasised that the mayors are on the frontlines and noted that this meeting was an important step for moving the Alliance forward. The Mayor concluded on a positive note stating: "We can win the fight. Together we can."

Ms. Mauerstein-Bail, who through her efforts during the last three years has supported the Alliance and provided assistance for development of the organisation through UNDP and UNAIDS, spoke on the future challenges for the Alliance. A key challenge for the future will be to build on what has been achieved and ensure that the strategic vision is now translated into effective policies and programmes in countries. The UN AMICAALL Partnership Programme will continue to provide support to the Alliance and its Secretariat and provide technical assistance for development of country-level programmes, partnership development, and resource mobilisation.

The meeting was honoured to have a representative of the newly created Minister of AIDS office speak at the opening. Professor Djeha thanked the mayors for their work, especially for creating the Alliance, and for their collective commitment. He emphasised the need for partnership in responding to the epidemic which is setting back the development of all too many countries in the region. For example, Professor Djeha urged that each city designate funds and have a line item for AIDS in their budget. The mobilisation of resources will be critical in turning the tide of the epidemic.

 

III. Headquarters and Secretariat for the Alliance

At the Africities Meeting in Windhoek last year, the government of Namibia made the generous offer of donating a building to provide a base or "home" for the Alliance. The Mayor of Windhoek reiterated that his government is "fully committed to the Alliance." However, because the Alliance did not initially foresee the need for a Permanent Secretariat, its statutes needed to be amended to enable it to move forward with accepting this offer and setting up the Secretariat. There was unanimous support for setting up the Secretariat as soon as possible. Mr. Fisho Mwale, the Deputy Co-ordinator of Alliance, commented: "At this stage in the Alliance, we need a home which will enable the Alliance to be more responsive to increasing demands from countries."

In addition to having the headquarters at Windhoek, the Committee also agreed that there should be a regional liaison office set up in Abidjan. The National Association of Local Authorities in Côte d'Ivoire will host this office. This makes sense for several reasons. First, the Mayor of Abidjan is the Co-ordinator of the Alliance and would, of course, give this office his full support. Second, the Alliance will have a francophone office to complement the Secretariat which will be based in an anglophone country.

In order to finalise this decision, the Committee made modifications in the Alliance Statutes which now support Windhoek being the Secretariat and permit regional liaison offices to be set up as needed.

Resources still need to be mobilised to support the activity costs of both the headquarters in Windhoek and any regional liaison offices. For now, the AMICAALL Partnership Programme will provide seed monies and short-term personnel to get the headquarters in Windhoek established and operational. The Alliance is aiming to secure operational funds for the Secretariat before the end of the year.

 

IV. Alliance Statutes

The Committee was tasked with reviewing modifications to the Statutes that Prof. Babacar Kante, legal adviser of the Alliance, had been asked to make after the last Alliance General Assembly meeting. As mentioned above, the modifications to the Statutes were needed to make the Alliance more operational on two levels:

1. As an official, sanctioned Association of mayors and municipal leaders; and
   
2. Establish a Secretariat as the executive arm of the Alliance.

The Committee spent almost a full day debating modifications and various nuances attached to them. Below is the summary of the major changes that were made:

• Adding a Statute creating a Secretariat as an administrative and technical arm of the Alliance which is run by a co-ordinator who assures the functioning of the Alliance, executes a budget, and provides strategic direction for program development;

• Establishing the Secretariat in Windhoek with the ability to set up regional liaison offices;

• Making the Co-ordinator and Deputy Co-ordinator positions (and other Alliance positions) for two-year terms that can be renewed only once; and

• Establishing associate membership in the Alliance for institutional partners (such as donors) and honorary membership for former Mayors or Municipal Officials who want to continue to be active and contribute to the Alliance

The full text of the modified Statutes can be found in the Annex No. 6. These will be submitted to the next General Assembly.

 

V. Resource Mobilisation

Dr. Bernhard Liese, World Bank Senior Advisor, presented information on resource mobilisation. Five main possibilities exist for funding Alliance activities and AMICAALL country-level programmes:

1. Mobilise National Resources--by accessing social sector budgets in countries qualifying for debt relief and poverty reduction initiatives;
2. Multi-country HIV/AIDS Programme for the Africa Region (MAP)--these funds are allocated through the World Bank and the IDA and are applicable in a number of sub-Saharan African countries;
3. Trust Fund— that could be set up at the World Bank to access foundation money such as a grant from the Gates Foundation;
4. Traditional Grants--these would be through UN Agencies;
5. Partnerships: city-to-city twinning, people-to-people initiatives, and private sector partnerships.

Funding of activities is a critical issue for the Alliance, and the Committee asked Dr. Liese to draft a one-page resource mobilisation strategic orientation plan for the meeting minutes (see Annex No. 7) and to work with Prof. Kante and Ms. Mauerstein-Bail to develop a medium-term resource mobilisation strategy document to be forwarded to the Alliance Co-ordinator for review by a larger Finance Resource Mobilisation Committee. The small subcommittee anticipates taking a month to complete this task.

 

VI. UNAIDS Inter-Country Team for West and Central Africa

To maximise collaboration and exchange, the Alliance invited Ms. Nancy Snauwaert, Technical Advisor on the Socio-Economic Impact of HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS Inter-Country Team for West and Central Africa, based in Abidjan, to give a short presentation on their mission, technical resources, and activities. The Inter-Country Team helps disseminate information on the current situation and support a global response to HIV/AIDS. Established in 1996, the Team's specific mission is to:

• Reinforce inter-country dynamics and support current networks and initiatives;
• Encourage and facilitate the development of mechanisms for exchange and collaboration;
• Give support, as needed, to the different actors; and
• Participate in mobilising resources for new actions and priority projects.

Ms. Snauwaret reported on the resolution passed at the recent Africa AIDS meeting in Abuja, Nigeria in April 2001, and on the upcoming UN Special Assembly on AIDS in June 2001 in New York and the objectives of that meeting.

The Inter-Country Team has developed electronic networks that the Alliance can use and draw upon for its work. Additionally, they have a quarterly newsletter that can be sent to Alliance members and, through these articles, further publicise activities of the Alliance. The Alliance can also contribute to any best practice/lessons learned documents the Team is putting together. Ms. Snauwaret, and other Team members, are ready to assist the Alliance and provide technical resources as appropriate.

 

VII. AMICAALL Process and UN Partnership Programme

Ms. Margo Kelly, Programme Development Advisor, gave a presentation on the Alliance background, the AMICAALL strategy and its methodology, objectives, the Swaziland AMICAALL Pilot Initiative, and the UN AMICAALL Partnership Programme. Much of what she presented has been mentioned in other reports. What's new and important to note here, is the example of the Swaziland Pilot Initiative and the description of the new UN AMICAALL Partnership Programme in Geneva.

In Swaziland, AMICAALL has already been launched nationally and in the eleven municipalities. Funding for a three-year pilot project has been secured through the Africa Capacity Development Foundation, and the first phase of this project should occur in the summer of 2001. Swaziland has been the first country to obtain funding and move forward with a full-scale, integrated programme.

The UN AMICAALL Partnership Programme, itself, was launched in April 2001 with Mina Mauerstein-Bail as the Programme Director. The Partnership Programme, based in Geneva, will focus on these five areas:

• Advocacy and Promotion of Partnerships
• Programme Development at Country Level
• Resource Mobilisation
• Documentation and Dissemination
• Institutional Support to the Alliance Secretariat in Windhoek

The priorities for the Partnership Programme, through the end of 2001, are:

• Set up of the Alliance Secretariat in Windhoek
• Development and start up of country-level programmes in Swaziland, Uganda, and, possibly, Côte d'Ivoire
• Programme development support to local Alliance chapters in Benin, Burkina Faso, Namibia, and South Africa
• Resource mobilisation
• Development of AMICAALL Toolkit

 

VIII. Summary of Co-ordinating Committee Actions

The Co-ordinating Committee ended by reviewing the agreed upon decisions and actions. They can be summed up as follows:

• Establishing an Executive Secretary as the administrative and technical arm for the Alliance;
  
• Naming Windhoek as the Alliance Secretariat, with a possibility of setting up regional liaison offices;
• Making Alliance positions for two-year terms that are once renewable; and
• Establishing associate and honorary Alliance membership.

 

Annex 3

OPENING REMARKS OF Mr. ERNEST N’KOUMO MOBIO
Mayor of Abidjan and Co-ordinator of the Alliance of Mayors

 

Excellencies,
Fellow Mayors and dear colleagues,
Honourable guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear friends,

I would like to welcome and express our gratitude to all our guests whose presence at our side is both an encouragement and a strong call to all women and men to come together to bar the road to HIV/AIDS.

It is a call, Ladies and Gentlemen, which African Mayors and Municipal Leaders have heard and understood perfectly - and the Alliance they launched here in Abidjan, in December 1997, responds to it.

Who indeed better than the mayors, close as they are to the people, experiencing their problems daily and sharing the same realities, who better than the mayors, could appreciate the hopes and the difficulties which are theirs as well.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The world is becoming more urbanised. In Africa, the most significant fact of the last twenty years, is the shift from the rural to the urban. Furthermore, everyone agrees that towns will in future have a determining impact on the economic development of countries. Now, it is in towns that AIDS is the most devastating and its socio-economic impact there is disastrous. The figures demonstrate this reality, this sad reality, which we must fight together with the mayors in the front lines. This is the raison d'être of the Alliance of Mayors and Municipal Leaders.

Fellow Mayors,

Speaking to you now, I wish to express my joy and honour to welcome you here, in Abidjan, after our meeting in Windhoek, where with the support and assistance of UNDP, we put together the response of African Municipalities in response to HIV/AIDS. It is up to us, in the course of our meeting in Abidjan and in the framework of the AMICAALL programme, to go further in seeking and mobilising the means to implement that programme.

Thus, Abidjan represents an important milestone for the Alliance. I am counting on your commitment and on the understanding of all those who, from the start, accepted to accompany us in this difficult, yet so exalting fight.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

While preparing for this moment, Georges Clémanceau's words came to my mind, and I quote: "those who would wish to secure man's freedom, must begin by guaranteeing his existence." Our existence here, as elsewhere in the world, is tied to the struggle against AIDS. History tells us that in the past, man cursed the heavens for all that happened to him because his destiny lay elsewhere. Today, man is the master of his destiny and he can change its course.

That is to say that we have the capacity to overcome HIV/AIDS if we are able to unite our efforts and our resources. United we shall win the fight; together we can.

I thank you.

 

 

Annex 4

OPENING REMARKS OF Ms. MINA MAUERSTEIN-BAIL
Director, UN AMICAALL Partnership Programme

 

The honourable representative of the Minister, in charge of responding to AIDS,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen the Mayors,
Mayoral colleagues,
Representatives of the Agencies of the United Nations,
Participants, experts and consultants,
Honourable guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Permit me to tell you what a great and renewed joy it is for me to be in Abidjan, at this podium and to address you in the framework of the activities of the Alliance of Mayors and Municipal Leaders against HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues of the United Nations System and of International Organisations, your presence at this meeting bears witness to your interest for and availability in supporting, here and elsewhere, the members of the Alliance to strengthen their activities.

I thank you immensely, knowing that they may always count on the availability of each one of you.

Mayors and dear friends, participants,

Our mission, during these three days, is to reflect how to best consolidate and further develop the Alliance of Mayors’ Initiative for Community Actors on AIDS at the Local Level (AMICAALL). We must find mechanisms and strategies which will permit municipalities, collectively and individually, in co-operation with civil society, to carry out people centred programmes that reach out to all sectors of their communities. To raise awareness, to educate, to support and guide all those who, in towns and villages, are mobilising for this great endeavour, the fight against HIV/AIDS; that is the purpose of the Alliance.

A key challenge for the future will be to build on what has been achieved and ensure that strategic vision is now translated into effective policy and programmes.

I am filled with great hope and confidence that we will measure up to the task.

Thank you.

 

Annex 5

OPENING REMARKS OF Prof. DJEHA
Chief of Cabinet and Representative of the Delegate Minister to the Prime Minister,
in charge of responding to the AIDS epidemic

Mr. Mayor of the City of Abidjan, Co-ordinator of The Alliance Of Mayors and Municipal Leaders on HIV/AIDS in Africa,
Ms. Director of the UN AMICAALL Partnership Programme,
Ms. Regional Representative of UNAIDS,
Ladies and Gentlemen Municipal Leaders,
Honourable guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I convey to you this morning, at the opening of your meeting, the greetings of your sister, Doctor Assana Ouattara-Sangare, Delegate Minister to the Prime Minister, in charge of responding to the AIDS epidemic, who was unable to attend.

She would have liked to actively participate in your work, but the circumstances have prevented her. She is sending her apologies and has asked me to assure you of her support.

She is grateful to you for the active role undertaken by the Alliance of Mayors of Côte d’Ivoire during the seminar-workshop which she organised on these same premises of the Abidjan Golf Hotel on the 19, 20 and 21 April 2001. This seminar-workshop resulted in the development of the National Action Plan.

The reporting of the conclusions of the above seminar-workshop to the Head of the State and to the Government will take place in the following days at the Culture Palace of Treichville. On this occasion, Ms. Delegate Minister to the Prime Minister, in charge of responding to AIDS, looks forward to seeing you among the guests.

Ladies and Gentlemen, today’s meeting takes on a double importance:

Firstly, this meeting proves that there is a collective engagement by African municipalities and cities in respect to the HIV/AIDS challenge.

Secondly, you demonstrate that it is through unity of actions and through partnership that we will be able to efficiently respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic which seriously threatens the development of our countries, and the development of Côte d’Ivoire in particular.

The conclusions of this meeting will help the Delegate Minister to the Prime Minister, in charge of responding to the AIDS epidemic, who has set for herself four main lines of work, among which are decentralisation and multi-sectoral action.

In the organigram of this Ministry, a service in charge of decentralisation and collaboration with municipalities was created. This proves the important role that the Ministry expects you to play in the prevention of HIV/AIDS, through raising awareness and mobilising the population in your municipalities. The subject of resource mobilisation, financing of the Alliance and of the plan of the activities is on the programme tomorrow.

In this regard, this Delegate Ministry to the Prime Minister, in charge of responding to HIV/AIDS, encourages you to open a budgetary line in each municipality of the country for financing activities against AIDS. This budgetary line will be managed by each municipality. This will enable the Delegate Ministry to the Prime Minister, in charge of responding to AIDS, to support you with the implementation of your multi-sectoral activities, which are developed within the framework of the National Plan. Regarding this multi-sectoral approach, we wish that each municipal leader be president of the Committee on combating AIDS within their respective structure, assisted by a vice-president.

Mr. Mayor of the City of Abidjan: we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for having initiated and hosted this important meeting which arrives not a moment too soon. And above all, thank you Mr. Mayor for accepting to be the president of the Committee on combating AIDS of the Abidjan municipality.

Ms. Mina Bail, who specially came from Geneva: the Delegate Ministry to the Prime Minister, in charge of responding to AIDS, thank you very much for your important contribution in combating HIV/AIDS in Côte d’Ivoire.

Mr. Regional Representative of UNAIDS: the Delegate Ministry to the Prime Minister, in charge of responding to AIDS, aware of your priceless contribution in this combat against HIV/AIDS, is very grateful, as we are to the Agencies of the United Nations System and all the partners for development.

Ladies and Gentlemen municipal leaders, dear participants: the Delegate Ministry to the Prime Minister, in charge of responding to AIDS, relies on your support for the elimination of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in our country, and wishes you a successful seminar.

It is with these words that I declare, on behalf of Ms. Minister, the "Meeting of the Executive Committee of the Alliance of Mayors and Municipal Leaders against HIV/AIDS in Africa" opened.

Thank you.

 

Annex 6

The Alliance of Mayors and Municipal Leaders on HIV/AIDS in Africa
STATUTES

Mayors and Municipal Leaders, considering the need for the effective implementation of the Declaration of Abidjan, have agreed to create an Alliance, the modalities of organisation and functioning of which, are determined by these statutes:

Title I: Purpose and Composition

Article 1:
Mayors and Municipal Leaders of Africa hereby create a group called Alliance of Mayors and Municipal Leaders on HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Article 2:
The purpose of this Alliance is to create conditions for an effective application of the Declaration of Abidjan, namely by:

• establishing a framework for consultation and concerted action among its members;
  
• strengthening solidarity among its members on the one hand and between its members and their partners on the other;
• facilitating the promotion, the implementation and the evaluation of more effective multi-sectoral responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa.

Article 3:
The Alliance is open to all municipalities of Africa, to their associations and to their national alliances.

Associations of Mayors and Municipal Leaders linked to African municipalities, members of the Alliance, and institutions which are partners of the Alliance, may obtain the status of associate member of the Alliance.

Persons who have rendered services to the Alliance may be awarded honorary membership.

Article 4:
Membership of the Alliance is granted by a simple majority of members of the General Assembly, at the request of a mayor, a municipal leader or an association.

Title II: Organisation and Operating Procedures

Article 5:
The structure of the Alliance is simple. It operates with flexible mechanisms readily adaptable to new needs.

Article 6:
The Alliance has its headquarters in Windhoek, Namibia. The location of its headquarters may be changed by a two-thirds majority of its General Assembly.

Article 7:
The Alliance includes:

- the General Assembly
- the Co-ordinator
- the Co-ordinating Committee
- the Executive Secretary

 

Chapter I: The General Assembly

Article 8:
The General Assembly is composed of all the members of the Alliance. It may however invite any person known for his/her competence on an issue on its agenda.

Article 9:
The General Assembly designates the Co-ordinator, his/her two Deputies and the members of the Co-ordinating Committee.

The General Assembly defines the overall objectives of the Alliance, approves the annual report of the Co-ordinator and adopts the budget of the Alliance.

Article 10:
The General Assembly meets at least once every two years under the presidency of its Co-ordinator and at the request of one third of its members, if necessary. The quorum required is half of its membership; decisions are taken by a simple majority. The Executive Secretary of the Alliance services the General Assembly.

Chapter II: The Co-ordinator

Article 11:
The Co-ordinator of the Alliance is appointed by the General Assembly of its members.

Article 12:
The Co-ordinator is appointed for a period of two years, renewable once.

Article 13:
The Co-ordinator presides the General Assembly and oversees the implementation of its deliberations. He/she co-ordinates the activities of the Alliance and represents it.

Article: 14:
The Co-ordinator is assisted by two Deputies the first of whom assumes the interim in the Co-ordinator's absence.

Article 15:
The Deputy Co-ordinators are appointed for periods of two years, renewable once.

Chapter III: The Co-ordinating Committee

Article 16:
The Co-ordinating Committee is composed of five (5) members chosen on the basis of geographical criteria and taking into account the means and commitment of the municipalities they represent.

The Co-ordinating Committee may however invite the participation of any person known for his/her competence on an issue on its agenda.

The Co-ordinator, his/her two Deputies, the Executive Secretary and mayor of the city hosting the Alliance's headquarters are full members of the Co-ordinating Committee.

The Co-ordinating Committee is responsible to the General Assembly.

Article 17:
The five members of the Co-ordinating Committee are appointed for periods of two years, renewable once.

Article 18:
The Co-ordinating Committee provides support to the Co-ordinator and to his/her two Deputies in the implementation of the Alliance's overall objectives.

Article 19:
The Co-ordinating Committee is convened and chaired by the Co-ordinator as needed.

The required quorum is constituted by one half of its members and decisions are taken by the majority.

Chapter IV: The Executive Secretariat

Article 20:
The Executive Secretariat is domiciled at the Alliance's headquarters. It is headed by an Executive Secretary appointed by the Co-ordinating Committee. The Alliance may create sub-regional liaison offices.

Article 21:
The Executive Secretary is responsible for the organisation and work of the Secretariat.

Article 22:
The Executive Secretary is placed under the authority of the Co-ordinating Committee. He/she has the responsibility to:

Title III: Resources

Article 23:
The resources of the Alliance consist of the dues paid by its members and grants it receives.

In the context of the implementation of the plan of action of the Alliance in their respective countries, members may mobilise human and financial resources at the national level in collaboration with their development partners and the public and private sectors.

 

Title IV: Modification of the Statutes and Dissolution

Article 24:
These statutes may be modified by the General Assembly of members by a majority of two-thirds.

Article 25:
Only a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly of members may dissolve the Alliance.

In the event of the dissolution of the Alliance, its assets shall be transferred to organisations having similar goals, by decision of a majority of two thirds of the General Assembly of members.

Signed in Abidjan on 3rd May 2001

 

Annex 7

RESOURCE MOBILISATION
STRATEGIC ORIENTATION PLAN

The meeting discussed the need to mobilise adequate resources to support both the activities of the Alliance itself and more importantly country specific activities.

The need for financial resources in the short term was stressed, i.e. the financing of the Secretariat in Windhoek, country support missions, symposia, etc.

The Manager, UN AMICAALL Partnership Programme, Ms Mina Mauerstein-Bail, indicated that limited resources for the activities mentioned above would be available under the AMICAALL Partnership Programme.

The meeting agreed on the need for the individual participating municipalities to contribute to the Alliance and to include line items in their municipal budgets for contributions for local interventions (counterpart contributions).

The urgent need for a medium term resource mobilisation strategy for the Alliance was discussed and agreed upon. Several potential avenues were presented and found viable. These can be summarised as follows:

• Accessing social sector budgets in the context of the initiative of debt relief and poverty reduction commonly referred to as HIPC in qualifying countries. It was pointed out that in many qualifying countries the additional social sector resources would be considerable and that using this process would guarantee sustainability of funding.

The meeting charged Bernhard Liese (World Bank), Ms Mina Mauerstein-Bail (UN), and Prof. B. Kante (Legal Advisor to the Alliance), with the preparation of a medium term resource mobilisation strategy document. The strategy document would be forwarded to the Co-ordinator of the Alliance for discussion by the Sub Committee on financial resource mobilisation.

A proposal for the membership of the Sub Committee on Finance will form part of the document.

 

Annex 8

SUMMARY CONCLUSIONS

In response to the dramatic increase of HIV/AIDS in Africa, the Mayors and Municipal Leaders from the region created in 1998 an Alliance to promote multi-sectoral action at the local level through partnerships with Civil Society. The Co-ordinating Committee of the Alliance, together with a group of experts, met from May 2-4, 2001 in Abidjan.

Purpose

The purpose of the meeting was to follow up on the recommendations made by the General Assembly of the Alliance at the Africities meeting in Windhoek, Namibia, May 2000.

Tasks

The Committee was charged with modifying the statutes in order to operationalise the Alliance.

Outcomes

The Committee took the following actions:

1. The new statutes were adopted;
   
2. Windhoek was confirmed as the site of the Alliance Secretariat with a sub-regional in office in Abidjan;
3. The position of the Executive Secretary of the Alliance Secretariat was created; and
4. A draft resource mobilisation plan was adopted.

The Co-ordinating Committee expressed its appreciation to UNDP and UNAIDS for setting up a Programme, based in Geneva, to support the work of the Alliance and its AMICAALL (The African Mayors and Municipal Leaders Initiative for Community Action on AIDS at the Local Level) strategy.

 

Mr. Ernest N'Koumo Mobio
Co-ordinator of Alliance
Mayor of Abidjan
Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
May 4, 2001