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Report
of the study on the implementation of the Abuja declaration 2001
on Hiv/Aids in Zimbabwe
ActionAid
International
March 2004
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Introduction
Globally, an estimated 40 million people were living with HIV/AIDS
at the end of 2001. Of these, 28.5 million were in Sub-Saharan Africa.
And out of a total of 14 million children orphaned by AIDS, 12.6
million (or 9 out of every 10) live in the region. Already, over
1 million children in each of four countries-Uganda, Nigeria, Ethiopia,
and Tanzania-have been orphaned by AIDS. In 12 other sub-Saharan
countries at least 200,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS,
from 230,000 in Burundi to 900,000 in Zimbabwe, according to UNAIDS
(162).
HIV/AIDS has
increasingly become a disease of the poor. It spreads fastest and
farthest in conditions of poverty, powerlessness, and lack of information
(53, 223). Worldwide, the AIDS epidemic is most severe in the poorest
countries (171). Sub-Saharan Africa is the poorest region in the
world. In more than 30 of the poorest economies in the world, most
of them in the region - real per capita incomes have been declining
since the early 1980s. A World Bank analysis of 72 countries shows
that both low per capita income and unequal distribution of income
are associated with high rates of HIV infection. (7). To tackle
the AIDS epidemic in Sub- Africa therefore, there will also be a
need to deal with its stagnant economic growth.
The twin problems of HIV/AIDS and poverty pose the greatest development
challenge for Sub-Saharan Africa and have been recognized as such
by the heads of state of the region. In April 2001, African leaders,
meeting in Abuja Nigeria declared HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and other
infectious diseases as their top priority for the first quarter
of the 21st century when they adopted the Abuja Declaration. The
leaders expressed concern over the rapid spread of HIV infection
in their countries and the millions of deaths caused by AIDS. They
also recognized the role played by poverty, poor nutrition and underdevelopment
in increasing vulnerability. They expressed concern over the millions
of children who have died or have been orphaned by AIDS and the
impact of this on the social systems of their countries.
The leaders committed themselves to take "personal responsibility
and provide leadership" for activities of their National AIDS
Councils/Commissions and to lead "from the front, the battle
against HIV/AIDS" (see Appendix 1 for Abuja Declaration). In
a related development, but within the global context, African leaders
made further commitments at the 2001 global summit on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS),
in New York.
Two years after those commitments, it is time to take stock of what
has changed on the ground and assess the seriousness with which
African leaders are taking their commitments. While the report will
look at whether governments have put in the policies required for
a concerted onslaught on the epidemic, it will try to look to beyond
the policies to how effectively they are being implemented on the
ground as well as some of the challenges and problems faced in the
implementation. For good policies on their own are only a beginning,
what is needed is effective implementation.
The following report highlights the actions governments in five
selected Sub-Saharan African countries - Mozambique, Zimbabwe -
have taken or are taking, to translate their commitments into concrete
actions as well as assess the challenges they are up against in
this task.
For most of the countries in the region, progress has been slow
largely because of resource constraints. But there are definite
signs of movement from lethargy to awareness and action, from secretiveness
about the pandemic to more openness, from not factoring it into
national budgets to making it the single biggest expenditure item;
from focusing on AIDS simply as a health issue to a broader perspective
that recognizes its multi-faceted nature and therefore the need
for a multi-sectoral response that brings in diverse actors including
NGOs, CBOs and the private sector.
This report chronicles some of these achievements and challenges
in meeting the Abuja Commitments, based on qualitative and quantitative
indicators designed to measure progress in the various interventions
that top the list of priorities in the Abuja Declaration and also
in UNGASS.
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fact sheet
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