AFRO-NETS> Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report Tue, 10 July 2001

[Cecilia Snyder <csnyder@ccmc.org>]

Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report Tue, 10 July 2001
----------------------------------------------

*HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson Expresses 'Dream' of Volunteer Medical
  Corps to Fight AIDS in Africa
*Annan Asks African Leaders to End Regional Conflicts, Work Together
  on the Continent's Problems
*Arap Moi Calls for Joint HIV/AIDS Initiatives
*World Bank Grants More Than $100 Million in HIV/AIDS Loans
  to Nigeria, Burkina Faso
*Catholic Church in Southern Africa May Consider Endorsing
  Condom Use to Stem Spread of HIV/AIDS


Politics & Policy

HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson Expresses 'Dream' of Volunteer Medi-
cal Corps to Fight AIDS in Africa

HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, speaking at a June 28 breakfast with
the Republican Main Street Partnership, a group of 60 moderate Repub
lican Congress members, expressed his "dream of a volunteer medical
corps in Africa to help treat the millions" of HIV-positive indi-
viduals on the continent, the Washington Post mentions in an article
describing Thompson's tendency to "thin[k] aloud." Thompson sug-
gested, "How about the Paul Coverdell medical scholar- ships?" in
reference to the late Georgia Sen. Paul Coverdell, who was appointed
by former President George Bush to run the Peace Corps. The remark
was "unexpected by his staff." HHS spokesperson William Pierce said,
"There are no specific or explicit details. We're in the broader
thinking phase" (Connolly, Washington Post, 7/10).
---

Global Challenges

Annan Asks African Leaders to End Regional Conflicts, Work Together
on Continent's Problems

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 37th summit of the Organiza-
tion of African Unity, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan "urged" Af-
rican leaders to halt Africa's "persistent" conflicts and build a
"common future," the Xinhua News Agency reports. Annan said that the
conflicts, which many on the continent "deemed as unavoidable," were
"caused by human action" and can be "ended by human action too" (Xin-
hua News Agency, 7/9). Annan also said that AIDS was undermining the
continent's growth, adding, "This disease is all around us. Within
our community, our families, our houses, and it will defeat our best
efforts at peace and development unless we defeat it first" (Newsday,
7/10). At the summit, the OAU is expected to "transform" into the
"more integrated" African Union, a "pan-African" body modelled after
the European Un- ion that would have an assembly, an executive coun-
cil and a central bank. The 35 heads of state will also elect a new
OAU secretary general to oversee the group's transition period
through May 2002. Another topic that will be addressed is the re-
gion's "mountainous" debt burden (Xinhua News Agency, 7/9).

---

Arap Moi Calls for Joint HIV/AIDS Initiatives

Speaking at "working breakfast "meeting with other heads of state,
Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi" called on African leaders to de-
velop and implement joint initiatives for fighting the continent's
HIV/AIDS pandemic. Because HIV/AIDS knows "no regional boundaries,"
the need for such regional anti-AIDS efforts is "urgent," he said.
Annan, who was attending the breakfast, "pledged logistical and stra-
tegic support" from the United Nations. Those attending the meeting,
including Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Botswanan President
Festus Mogae, agreed that Africa, as the "worst hit" region, "must be
involved in all the decision-making bodies" relating to the global
AIDS fund and asked all African nations to contribute to the fund
"according to individual ability" (BBC Monitoring/KBC Radio, 7/9).


---

World Bank Grants More Than $100 Million in HIV/AIDS Loans to Nige-
ria, Burkina Faso

The World Bank will loan Nigeria and Burkina Faso more than $100 mil-
lion to fight HIV/AIDS under the bank's $500 million HIV/AIDS Program
for the Africa Region. The no-interest loans, which will be funnelled
through the World Bank's International Development Association, will
go toward scaling up HIV/AIDS prevention strategies already estab-
lished by the countries' governments. Burkina Faso will receive a $22
million loan aimed at helping the government implement its five-year
HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan, which is meant to "slow the spread and miti-
gate the impact of" HIV/AIDS in the country. The project will expand
access nationwide to HIV prevention, care and treatment efforts and
will focus on "vulnerable groups such as youth, women of child- bear-
ing age, commercial sex workers and highly mobile workers." It will
also strive to "strengthen the capacity of public, private and commu-
nity institutions to design, implement and monitor HIV/AIDS work pro-
grams" (World Bank release, 7/9). Nigeria will receive $90.3 million
to bolster its HIV/AIDS Emergency Action Plan, a three-year project
sponsored by the Nigerian government. The project aims to stem the
spread of HIV, "prepare a large-scale response to the pandemic" and
help lay the foundation for establishing HIV/AIDS prevention, care
and treatment services at the federal, state and local levels (Xinhua
News Agency, 7/9). According to a World Bank release, Nigeria and
Burkina Faso "have developed a strategic approach to HIV/AIDS in a
participatory fashion and established high-level HIV/AIDS coordinat-
ing bodies with broad representation of key stakeholders from all
sectors." In addition, the countries' governments "have committed to
quick implementation arrangement, including channeling grant funds
for HIV/AIDS directly to communities, civil society and the private
sector, and have agreed to use multiple implementation agencies."
Burkina Faso has the second-highest HIV infection rate in West Af-
rica, while Nigeria has the fourth-highest HIV infection rate in sub-
Saharan Africa (World Bank release, 7/9).

  ---

Catholic Church in Southern Africa May Consider Endorsing Condom Use
to Stem Spread of HIV/AIDS

The Roman Catholic Church in southern Africa is "consider[ing]" sup-
porting condom use as a method to stem the spread of HIV/AIDS in the
region, Britain's Daily Telegraph reports. The church's "fundamental
principle of the sanctity of life" forbids the use of condoms. But
Bishop Kevin Dowling of South Africa stated in a policy paper that
the church should "reconside[r]" this view. Although the paper empha-
sizes the church's belief that sexual activity should be confined
within marriage, it adds that the church should consider supporting
condom use because "a large proportion of people" do not adhere to
this principle. Dowling prepared the document after discussing the
HIV/AIDS epidemic with local health workers who are "facing local HIV
infection rates of up to 50%." The Daily Telegraph reports that the
issue is likely to "pit the traditionalist wing of the Catholic
Church against pragmatists who argue that the effect of [HIV/AIDS]
means the issue of condoms must be reconsidered." The Southern Africa
Catholic Bishops Conference will discuss the idea later this month
(Butcher, Daily Telegraph, 7/9).

The Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report is published for kaisernetwork.org,
a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, by National
Journal Group Inc. c 2001 by National Journal
Group Inc. and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved

Contact daily reports staff editorial
Tel: 202-672-5952
Fax: 202-672-5767
Mailto:dailyreports@kaisernetwork.org


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