Middle East and North Africa

UN leaders and the African Union agreed at a meeting held in Abuja, Nigeria, on 30 March to join together to respond to the challenges that the pharmaceutical industry in Africa is facing in strengthening the local production of essential medicines and moving the continent towards sustainability of treatment programmes for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the Seventh Joint African Union Conference of Ministers of Economy and Finance and the UNECA Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.

Africa is highly dependent on foreign medicines, with 70% of them being imported; local production of quality medicines is therefore imperative to guaranteeing life-saving treatment in Africa. Local production will result in many benefits, including better quality assurance, shorter supply chains and fewer stock-outs.

Since one of the major challenges for the pharmaceutical industry in Africa is the establishment of an African regulatory agency, the participants agreed that their next meeting will focus on that issue.

The Council of Arab Ministers of Health endorsed on 13 March the Arab AIDS Strategy (2014-2020) during its 41st Ordinary Session held at the League of Arab States. The new Strategy is intended to guide the development of a coordinated and consensus-driven regional response to HIV.

In his opening remarks, Nabil El Araby, Secretary General of the League of Arab States, noted the importance of the landmark achievement. “I congratulate the efforts made to finalize the Arab AIDS Strategy which began with a Saudi initiative and was concluded with the support of UNAIDS, international organizations and concerned civil society organizations,” he said.

The new strategy comprises 10 goals which are aligned to the targets set in the 2011 United Nations General Assembly Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS while maintaining a broader vision for an AIDS-free generation beyond 2015. The 10 goals of the strategy include: To reduce HIV incidence among key populations at higher risk of infection by more than 50%; to eliminate new HIV infections among children; to increase HIV treatment coverage to 80%; to address stigma and discrimination; to improve AIDS financing; to address the special vulnerability of women and girls; and to review the policies around travel restrictions.

In a resolution of endorsement, the Ministers of Health requested that the League of Arab States and UNAIDS work closely to support and monitor the implementation of the strategy at country level. The League will provide seed funding to kick-start the implementation of the strategy through the organization of three high-level forums to discuss issues related to women leadership, media and religious leaders.

“Health is one of the basic and principle rights for each individual without discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, religion or political, economic or social affiliation,” said Adel Adawy, Egyptian Minister of Health and Population. “Raising the level of public health for the whole society is principle to achieving peace and security.”

UNAIDS worked closely with the League of Arab States, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other member states to provide political and technical support to develop the strategy. A series of consultations, workshops and technical validation meetings were organized as well as high-level advocacy conducted at regional and global level for the endorsement of the strategy by the Council of Arab Ministers of Health.

“The endorsement of the Arab AIDS Strategy demonstrates a longstanding commitment and leadership to the AIDS response in Arab countries,” said Yamina Chakkar, UNAIDS Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, on behalf of UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé. “We thank the Council for making the Arab AIDS Strategy possible and for being an important ally in helping to shape how we will work towards ending the AIDS epidemic in the post-2015 era,” she added.

The rise in new HIV infections makes the Arab region home to one of the fastest growing HIV epidemics in the world. Between 2001 and 2012, the estimated number of people living with HIV in the League of Arab States member countries increased from 140 000 to 210 000. Since 2001, the number of people newly infected with HIV in the Arab countries has increased by more than 44%—from 18 000 to 26 000—and between 2001 and 2012 there was a 69% increase in AIDS-related deaths in this region.

UNAIDS and the African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 8 December to collaboratively improve access to HIV testing and strengthen health systems throughout Africa.

The aim of the collaboration is to improve access to inexpensive, accurate and simple HIV and TB diagnostics to ensure the long-term effectiveness and quality of antiretroviral therapy (ART), which is key to achieve the objectives of the UNAIDS 2015 Treatment Initiative.

The ASLM is committed to supporting efforts to expand access to key diagnostics through its 2020 strategic vision—strengthening laboratory workforce development, improving laboratory accreditation, harmonizing regulatory systems and strengthening national and regional laboratory networks.

The XVII International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA) opened on 7 December in Cape Town, South Africa. At the top of the agenda—discussions on how the continent is taking the lead in setting the AIDS and health agenda for 2015 and beyond.

At a session called African leadership in the Post-2015 era, African leaders, civil society and young people explored how Africa’s AIDS response could help implement health and development strategies differently across the continent. The meeting included UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé; former president of Botswana, Festus Gontebanye Mogae; UN Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS in Africa, Speciosa Wandira-Kazibwe; and Executive Committee Member of the African Youth and Adolescents Network (AfriYAN) Samuel Kissi.

Mr Sidibé stressed that AIDS is an unfinished business and that future development goals must include a clear roadmap towards ending the AIDS epidemic. Youth representatives called for more systematic approaches to engage them in the decision-making process.

The purpose of the leadership panel Global Plan Towards the Elimination of New HIV Infections Among Children by 2015 and Keeping their Mothers Alive was to discuss the progress made and the remaining challenges in moving towards an HIV-free generation. Participants also discussed other dimensions of the Global Plan such as pediatric tuberculosis and cervical cancer.

Mr Sidibé, singer and social activist and UNAIDS International Goodwill Ambassador, Annie Lennox, and the Acting Global AIDS Coordinator of the President’s Emergency Plan for the AIDS Relief, Deborah von Zinkernagel addressed the meeting. Other special guests included the Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Namibian Minister of Health and Social Services Norbert Foster (representing Minister Dr Richard Kamwi), Special Advisor to the First Lady of  Chad and former Minister of Health for Chad Ngarmbatina  Odjimbeye Soukate, and Executive Director of Community Initiative for Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and Malaria (CITAM+) Carol Nyirenda.