The Vice President's speech to the UN General Assembly Special Session on
HIV/AIDS. This was delivered today.
PEACE
TOMBONG
· President of the General Assembly;
· Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government;
· Secretary General of the United Nations;
· Representatives of the UN System, Other International Organizations;
· NGOs, Members of Civil Society;
· Distinguish delegates;
· Ladies and Gentlemen;
Mr. President
Let me begin by expressing my delegation's appreciation for the professional
manner in which you have been guiding our deliberations. I am sure that
under your able leadership this Special Session will be crowned with
success.
It is with great pleasure and a great sense of urgency that I accept this
invitation to participate in the UN Special Session on HIV/AIDS on behalf of
His Excellency Dr. Alhagie Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh, President of the Republic of
The Gambia.
The importance and relevance of our topic of discussion HIV/AIDS cannot be
emphasized. This Special Session is most timely, in-fact it is well
over-due.
The HIV/AIDS crisis is a huge public health and development problem. The
AIDS virus is the single most significant threat to the very survival of
human kind. The worrisome data from the United Nation Joint Programme of
AIDS - UNAIDS underscores the magnitude and global nature of the AIDS crises
especially for Sub-Saharan Africa.
UNAIDS data shows that since the advent of the AIDS pandemic, 50 million
individuals worldwide have been infected with HIV of whom more than 36
million are still alive and over 22 million have already died. Last year
alone, 5.6 million people were newly infected with HIV and 2.8 million
deaths have occurred.
More depressing, yet factual is that about half of all people who acquire
HIV become infected before they turn 25 and die of AIDS before their 35th
birthday. This age factor makes HIV/AIDS a most urgent problem for all
nations. UNAIDS also reported that the overwhelming majority of people with
HIV, a staggering 95% of the global total, live in the developing countries.
Official data also show that Sub-Saharan Africa is by far the most
affected region with over 25 million adults and children living with
HIV/AIDS.
Mr. President,
The AIDS crisis has become so acute that on 10th January 2000, the United
Nations Security Council broke with tradition and discussed the issue of
HIV/AIDS. It was the first time that the council has ever dealt with a
health issue in the way it did. AIDS has hence developed into a security
threat for Africa.
In addition, Infant and child mortality rates in severely affected countries
will rise by 50 per cent more than would have been the case without
HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS is a significant development calamity that usually
affects young adults between the ages of 20 and 40 years. These constitute
the most sexually active as well as the most economically productive segment
of the population.
Contributing to the crisis is a conspiracy of silence that shrouds HIV/AIDS,
often based on shame or fear of infection which has in-turn fuelled
stigmatization and rejection of people living with HIV/AIDS. The
unfortunate, senseless conflicts between and within countries in our
sub-region also engender instability resulting in the further spread of the
HIV infection.
Nearer home in The Gambia an update of HIV prevalence in antenatal women
from preliminary data from one of our Sentinel Surveillance sites shows a
significant increase. It revealed that the prevalence rate although still
relatively low has increased two fold. The current HIV situation coupled
with the high prevalence of conventional STI's has potential to fuel a
serious HIV/AIDS epidemic in our beloved country if additional measures are
not taken to arrest the trend.
Mr. President,
Countries such as ours still have a window of opportunity that is growing
smaller in diameter by the passage of each day. It is in this context
therefore, that the Special Session is timely and relevant and provides the
framework for reflection of our efforts at Global, Regional and Country
levels. HIV/AIDS issues are adequately addressed in a host of policy
documents. The National Health Policy, the National Population Policy, the
National Youth Policy and Action Programme, the Policy on the Advancement of
Women and the National Poverty Alleviation Programme all addressed the
issues of reproductive and sexual health including the prevention and
control of HIV/AIDS.
The Health for Peace Initiative proposed by my Government was launched in
Dakar, Senegal last November. This initiative is about enhancing
partnership and peace in our Sub-Region through the promotion of health and
the prevention of epidemics. Our initiative, first of its kind in our
sub-region focuses on the eradication of polio and improvement of
vaccination programmes for childhood disease prevention, prevention and
control of HIV/AIDS/STIs, Malaria, Epidemic Disease Surveillance and
Disaster preparedness.
The Gambia Government in collaboration with Civil Society Organizations
worked tirelessly to educate and create awareness on HIV/AIDS/STIs.
Religious Leaders, Community and Political Leaders, Women and Youth groups
and Extension Workers were all sensitized on HIV/AIDS prevention and
control.
These efforts coupled with our resolve to strengthen the health care
delivery system and other related institutions e.g. Department of State for
Education, augur well for our fight against HIV/AIDS. However, there are
still some significant obstacles needing urgent action. The fact that there
is still some who doubt and even question the very existence of HIV, is a
major set back. This form of denial only inhibits the maintenance of
positive behaviours and attitudes necessary for the prevention of infections
and diseases. Denial only breeds complacency with all its negative
consequences.
Mr. President,
Another inhibiting factor is the assumption that HIV/AIDS is a matter
exclusively for the Department of State for Health. This is largely
responsible for the huge gap in our multi-sectoral response to the epidemic.
Therefore, in order to scale up the National Response to HIV/AIDS epidemic
the Government of The Gambia in collaboration with World Bank and other
partners developed the HIV/AIDS Rapid Response Project (HARRP). A US$15
million Credit Agreement was signed with the International Development
Association (IDA/World Bank) to implement the HIV/AIDS Rapid Response
Project over the next four years. Under this project the Government will
address issues related to HIV/AIDS through the appropriate Departments of
State, working closely with Civil Society Organizations, and communities.
HARRP is an expanded multi-sectoral response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
With regards to implementation arrangements, a National HIV/AIDS Council
(NAC) has been established under the Office of the President. The President
is the Chairman of the Council. Council members are representatives of
civil society and the Government in equal numbers. Membership includes
Secretaries of the State, NGOs, Civil Society, the Private Sector,
Representatives of Religious, Women and Youth groups, as well as, People
Living With HIV/AIDS. The project consist of the following component
areas:
Component-1 will enhance institutional capacity to develop and implement
the HIV/AIDS campaign based on a national strategy and action plan, and its
monitoring and evaluation. This component will be the responsibility of
the National HIV/AIDS Secretariat.
Component-2 will provide support to Departments of State to develop their
plans and implement HIV/AIDS related activities for the prevention, care and
support for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) and their dependents.
Component-3 will improve the Department of State for Health and Social
Welfare's capacity to provide health services related to HIV/AIDS, including
testing, counselling, and care of HIV/AIDS patients by strengthening health
facilities with the necessary equipment, medicine and staff training.
Component-4 will support community-based initiatives by Civil Society
Organizations and other groups for HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support to
people living with HIV/AIDS and their dependents. Over 50 percent of the
project's resources will be for these activities, underscoring the fact that
this component is the most crucial.
A National HIV/AIDS Secretariat (NAS) has been established to perform
national level activities such as planning and coordination. It is headed
by a Director, who will report to the Council. This Secretariat is not an
implementing agency and will not carry-out the activities of the HIV/AIDS
Rapid Response Project.
At the Divisional and Municipal level, Divisional/Municipal HIV/AIDS
Committees (DACs/MACs) will be established in every Division and
Municipality. Members of these Committees will include representatives of
NGOs/CBOs, representatives of Departments of State, religious, women and
youth groups, and people living with HIV/AIDS. DACs/MACs chairpersons will
be selected from among the members for a one-year period, on a rotational
basis.
Each DACs/MACs will have a coordination office supported by a HARRP
Facilitator who will provide technical assistance. The HARRP Facilitator
will be responsible for overall coordination and supervision of HARRP
activities at this level.
In the areas of social sector development, the Health, and Education sectors
are priority areas for my Government. In partnership with friends of The
Gambia such as The Republic of China (ROC) and Cuba, these two sectors
experienced accelerated development with the construction and refurbishment
of hospitals, health clinics and schools. The renowned expertise of both
ROC and Cuba in Health and Development is being transferred through an
exemplary framework for bilateral co-operation a laudable example of South
South cooperation.
Mr. President,
With regard to the World Bank Credit, I referred to earlier on in my
statement, we in The Gambia consider it to be a positive investment in the
future. Initiatives such as The Gambia's HIV/AIDS Rapid Response Project
will stop the further spread of HIV/AIDS, thus contributing positively to
our development efforts.
However, in the spirit of calls for debt cancellation, in order to mobilize
resources for HIV/AIDS prevention, let me add my voice to many of the voices
from developing countries and Government and Civil Society Organizations for
loans like the one in the World Bank Multi-Country HIV/AIDS Programme for
the Africa Region (MAP) framework, to be turned into grants.
The Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiatives (HIPC) should also be
accelerated to free up important resources to fight HIV/AIDS. Any delays
will inevitably lead to more acute incapacity to respond to the epidemic and
devastation. In like manner, we would also like to strongly urge the
developed countries concerned to meet the 07% GNP target for ODA as well as
allocating 0.15% to 0.20% GNP for LDCs as a matter of extreme urgency
bearing in mind the serious impact of HIV/AIDS in these countries.
Mr. President,
While there may be a need, at the International level, for continued
support at the level of our leadership from the Presidency to the
legislature, heads of institutions both national and local, youth and
religious leaders, there is also need for the active involvement of People
Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
However, this involvement is seriously handicapped by their inability to
have access to affordable prevention technologies such as vaccines and
microbicides.
Thus we must, as a Global family, provide the drugs and the necessary
support to enhance their participation in our preventive efforts.
Whilst I am confident that this Special Session will be crowned with
success, I implore all of use to approach the problem with added candor and
openness. Let us highlight all the concerns and build bridges for a way
forward in our henceforth invigorated and joint fight against HIV/AIDS.
We have a good understanding of the nature of the epidemic and what we need
to do to combat it and reduce its negative impact on development.
What remains to be done is concerted international effort to win the
victory.
I Thank you for your attention.
_________________________________________________________________________
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