Against AIDS

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MRS SUZANNE Mubarak on Monday inaugurated the sixth ordinary round table meeting of the General Assembly of the Organisation of African First Ladies Against AIDS which convened on the sidelines of the 11th African summit in Sharm El-Sheikh this week. Reem Leila reports that the conference probed the prevalence of and warned against HIV/AIDS in African countries.

Having witnessed the tremendous efforts exerted by the Egyptian government, Mrs Mubarak said, "we managed to provide a sizeable stock of drugs needed to cure patients infected with the deadly virus, thus limiting the prevalence of the disease in many African states. But still the statistics that are available to us paint an alarming picture of the reality of the problem. An estimated 1.7 million people died last year from the disease."

Mrs Mubarak called for increasing public awareness campaigns in the African continent against the hazards of AIDS. "More attention should be paid to women, young people and other groups who have no access to health services and potable water," Mrs Mubarak said. She urged a rallying for financial resources to provide health services offered to AIDS victims and attaching importance to early HIV diagnosis.

The organisation has succeeded in increasing AIDS medicinal reserves in the African continent and that in turn has helped lower the infection rate in many countries, she said. The organisation is also trying to help African countries manufacture AIDS vaccines instead of depending on international companies, Mrs Mubarak added. Uganda was cited as an example, having built a factory to manufacture AIDS vaccines because it cannot afford to import the medicine, she said.

Despite these accomplishments, Mrs Mubarak acknowledged the road was still long before the threat of AIDS in Africa could be genuinely contained. According to the latest statistics, there are 22.5 million AIDS patients in Africa of which women represent 59 per cent, Mrs Mubarak added. Though funds for AIDS treatment are rising, one in six patients gets treatment which means that in 2015 there will be 60 million AIDS victims, Mrs Mubarak added.

"These terrible figures still cannot describe the disastrous effects of this killer disease on development efforts in Africa. What we really need now is to share our experience to know how to remove the big hurdles holding our progress back."

Also in Sharm El-Sheikh, Mrs Mubarak, founder of the Suzanne Mubarak International Women's Peace Movement, presided over a round table meeting on 1 July on enhancing the role of women in making peace. The day-long meeting grouped the wives of African leaders.