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Gathering African Leaders Focus On AIDS
WASHINGTON (IslamOnline) - More than 1,500 delegates from African countries are meeting for the African Development Forum 2000 in Addis Ababa this week to discuss the spread of AIDS/HIV and its impact upon sub-Saharan Africa.
Organized by the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in conjunction with UNAIDS and its seven co-sponsors, UNDP, UNICEF, the World Bank and other partners, ADF 2000 is meeting from December 3rd to 7th, to discuss “AIDS - The Greatest Leadership Challenge”.
“It is no longer merely a health problem but poses a major development crisis in the continent,” the ECA said in a statement.
“Sub-Saharan Africa has only one-tenth of the global population, but it bears the brunt of the disease with more than 80% of the AIDS-related deaths in the world.”
In addition to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, several African heads of state are expected to attend, including Presidents Festus Mogae of Botswana, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, and Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda.
Senegal's Prime Minister, Moustapha Niasse, and Malawi's Vice President, Justin Malewezi, will also attend. Prime Minister Nagoum Yomassoum of Chad arrived in Addis Ababa Friday for the event.
Pre-forum meetings took place on Saturday with opening remarks by former South African president Nelson Mandela, Ethiopian President Negasso Gidada, who himself lives with HIV/AIDS, and the Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), Salim Ahmed Salim.
Pre-forum meetings discussed issues on youth (UNICE/ECA), civil society (UNICEF/ECA), leadership roles in access to care in Africa (WHO) and HIV/AIDS and labor movements (ILO).
HIV/AIDS is taking a great toll on a continent lacking an adequate amount of prosperity accounting for nearly 13.7 million deaths out of the 16.3 million total deaths worldwide in the last two decades.
Some predictions say by 2005 one South African will die every minute due to the disease.
Currently, more than 6,000 Africans die every day because of AIDS virus related diseases.
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