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Xth International Conference on HIV/AIDS and STDs in Africa The Alliance of Mayors and Municipal Leaders on HIV/AIDS in Africa Annex 4 Presentation
by Ms. Mina Mauerstein-Bail
Mr. President of UVICOCI and Mayor of Abidjan, Honorable Mayors and Municipal Leaders, Honorable Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, First, let me thank you for this opportunity to contribute to your important discussions. On behalf of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), I would like to congratulate you – mayors and municipal leaders – on your initiative to join together in an Alliance to promote and support expanded community-based responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. A little less than two months ago, in Abidjan, during the Xth International Conference on STDs and AIDS in Africa, the Mayor of Abidjan hosted a day-long symposium at the city hall on HIV, Development and the Role of Local Government. This meeting brought together African mayors and municipal leaders, NGOs, community-based organisations, people living with HIV/AIDS, UN agencies, the World Bank and other development partners. I remember, in particular, a presentation during the symposium by a 14 year old girl from Uganda, Kevina, who lost both parents to AIDS and is now head of her household, taking care of 6 younger sisters and brothers. Sadly, there are hundreds of thousands of young people like Kevina in Africa today. How to cope with the extensive and painful losses of human life and how to manage the associated social and economic losses are critical issues now facing all too many societies in sub-Saharan Africa. A spectrum of responses is required from prevention to care, support and treatment, to programmes of assistance to those surviving the death of family members, through to policies and programmes which address the broader social and economic development implications of the epidemic. It is clear that while HIV/AIDS remains a very serious public health issue, effective responses require leadership, commitment and action on a broad range of human, social, economic and political endeavours AND the active involvement of political leaders at all levels –leaders who can stimulate and support dynamic partnerships with civil society organisations and groups, because community-based action is critical for an effective and sustainable response to the many challenges posed by the epidemic. Your leadership, energy and inspiration can make a difference. UNDP is pleased to be associated with this initiative, and to support you in your efforts to identify, promote and initiate relevant action at the local level. Within the framework of UNAIDS, an "alliance" of UN organisations, including UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank, this UN system network of organisations and their country offices can work together to support you and your partners in the communities you serve. UNDP’s HIV and Development Programme includes activities at global, regional and country levels. For close to a decade, UNDP has been working in partnership with others, within and outside the UN system to:
We hope to build on these and other initiatives to identify with you ways and means to support the Alliance and its members. Steps have already been taken, for example, to establish a working partnership between UNDP’s Global Programme on HIV and Development, its Africa Regional Programme on HIV and Development, based in Dakar and the Urban Management Programme, based in Abidjan. I would like to acknowledge the managers of these two regional programmes – Mr. Boubacar Diallo and Mr. Alioune Badiane – who are here today, and thank them for their commitment, collaboration and support. We look forward, together with our development partners, to continuing our collaboration with you, in order to translate the goals and objectives of your Alliance into concrete actions, reflecting local needs and realities, based on hope and respect for human dignity. Thank you.
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