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Moving
from the Africa women's round table on HIV & AIDS to the AU
Special Summit on HIV/AIDS, TB & Malaria
Action
Aid International
May 15, 2006
One
of the key outcomes from the women’s round table held in Johannesburg
was the Johannesburg Position. We jointly agreed to publicize the
document and to use the document to lobby for integration of the
women’s position into the Africa CSO position which was identified
as the key document for lobbying Africa’s Heads of State and Government
at the Abuja Summit.
The
process leading to the development of the Africa CSO paper at the
Africa wide CSO meeting held from 10-12 April, included paper presentations
and drafting of the document by a drafting team. There were women’s
rights activists and organizations working for women present at
the meeting. Though not central to the Africa CSO paper, some issues
of women’s rights concern were integrated into the paper, namely,
- African CSOs
are outraged that women and girls continue to be violated with
impunity further deepening vulnerability to infection and stigma
- They called
for scaling up of prevention efforts with particular emphasis
on sexuality education and life skills aimed at reducing vulnerability
of women; promotion of ability of women to fully enjoy sexual
and reproductive health and rights; development of policy, legislation
and conducive environment in which rights of African women and
girls especially those living with HIV and AIDS are actively promoted,
fully enjoyed and protected within and through the ratification
and domestication of human rights instruments of CEDAW, Protocol
to African Charter and Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in
Africa; ensure all pregnant women have access to ARV
Some
of the reasons for not achieving the centrality of women’s rights
in the document from my assessment include;
- lack of strategizing
in terms of creating space for presentation of women’s rights
issues at the meeting
- lack of caucusing
of women’s rights activists and women HIV activists during the
period of the meeting
- the Johannesburg
position document was received on the last day of the meeting
and therefore was not shared to the participants early enough
for internalizing
There
were two key outcome documents from the AU Summit held from 2nd
to 4th May in Abuja. It was the first time in the history
of HIV and AIDS that CSOs were coordinated and strategic in engagement.
The organizing committee also took CSOs very seriously and provided
space for engagement, including speaking at the experts meeting,
Ministers council meeting and meeting of Heads of States and Council.
There was a glaring absence of women’s rights organizations or women
activists at the Summit.
The Abuja
Call to action: which is designed as a back up to the 2001 Declaration,
which the HOS recommitted to recognized and called for actions to
address women’s rights concerns in HIV and AIDS. Some of the excerpts
are as follows:
- Failure to
take into account the link between HIV and AIDS and sexual and
reproductive health;
- To continue
promoting an enabling policy, legal and social environment that
promotes human rights particularly for women;
- to enact
or repeal laws and policies related to gender and human rights
in order to align them with AU frameworks including the Solemn
Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa and the AU protocol on
Women;
- To invest
heavily in evidence-based prevention as the most cost-effective
intervention with focus on young people, women, girls and other
vulnerable groups;
- to ensure
access to a comprehensive package of prevention interventions
for the prevention of primary and secondary infections with HIV
and AIDS, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) (including
post-exposure prophylaxis following sexual violence, male and
female condoms), TB and malaria, reduction of vulnerability to
HIV and AIDS;
- to integrate
HIV and AIDS issues into ongoing immunization programmes and sexual
and reproductive health programmes, and conversely sexual and
reproductive health programmes; to promote and support research
and development of microbicides, vaccines;
- they also
called upon the respective national, regional continental and
international partners including NGOs and civil society (including
youth, women to.
The
Africa Common Position to the UNGASS: addresses the universal
access agenda. In the document, issues of women’s rights concern
in HIV and AIDS was also integrated as the following excerpts show
-
- Aware
that the overwhelming majority of HIV infections are sexually
transmitted or associated with pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding;
and that women and youths are disproportionately affected; the
feminization of HIV/AIDS in Africa due to gender inequality, low
socio-economic status of women and gender-based violence, scaling
up universal access to prevention, treatment, care and support
should prioritize gender equality, women social and economic empowerment
and prevention of gender-based violence;
- the susceptibility
of vulnerable groups such as women, children, youth and uniformed
services to the spread of HIV/AIDS, and the need to scale up the
response to underserved and marginalized groups, such as, people
in conflict situations, displaced people, sex and migratory workers,
etcetera; the fundamental role of intensified research and development
efforts in all areas particularly traditional medicine and microbicides;
- respect of
human rights, particularly the rights of women and children, with
regard to the fight against stigma and discrimination and to advance
equity will be promoted; put people at the centre of the HIV and
AIDS response, especially vulnerable people (e.g.) the poor; women,
young people;
- adopt gender-centered
approaches in order to address the needs of women and girls; maintain
an unwavering commitment to deliver a comprehensive package of
services for prevention, treatment, care and support for HIV and
AIDS, including nutrition and linkages with reproductive health;
- at least
80% of pregnant women have access to Prevention of Mother-To-Child
Transmission (PMTCT), and treatment for HIV-positive women and
children; at least 80 % of target populations have access to prevention
and treatment of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) and Integrated
sexual reproductive health;
- 100% access
to sexual and reproductive health services including antenatal
care;
- Conduct an
audit of existing legislation and as appropriate, develop, implement
and enforce policies and laws to reduce stigma and discrimination,
protect the rights of people living with HIV and address the needs
of vulnerable groups especially women and children and support
these with advocacy campaigns;
- Deploy financial
and human resources and create the enabling environment for the
establishment of 3 regional centres of excellence for the development
and local production of antiretrovirals, condoms, vaccines, microbicides
and other HIV/AIDS related commodities and technologies.
The
above are excerpts from the documents and the whole text of the
documents will need to be read for better understanding. Short of
beating ourselves on our chests, I think we would have achieved
much more with the presence of women’s rights activists at the Summit.
Their absence was palpable. The few HIV activists with a bias for
women’s rights issues managed to influence the document through
lobbying national delegations and parliamentarians with alternative
positions and write ups. We also influenced the meeting by having
women activists living with HIV address the Heads of States highlighting
women’s issues in their speeches.
The
upcoming UNGASS presents another opportunity. Women must come up
with a plan and must caucus to ensure that the gains of the African
position is not lost within the global context. Many of the national
delegates at Abuja will also be at the UNGASS.
The
arena of lobbying and influencing at such meetings usually comes
down to the game of numbers. Women and women activists must make
their presence felt at such important meetings of HIV if any headway
is to be made.
It is important
for us to identify members of the African women’s coalition on HIV
and AIDS who will be at the UNGASS, begin some e-mail discussions
and plan to meet as women and then as part of the African CSO coalition
in New York. It will important for us as African women to develop
strategies to monitor the Abuja Call at national and regional levels.
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