ADDIS ABABA, Feb 2 (NNN-ENA) — The President of the Organization of African First Ladies, Ethiopian First Lady Azeb Mesfin, says the organization has prepared a strategic plan to prevent HIV/AIDS and promote women’s empowerment.

The 8th Ordinary General Assembly of the Organization of African First Ladies was held in Addis Ababa Monday in conjunction with with the 14th Summit of heads of state and government held at the AU headquarters here from Sunday to Tuesday.

Azeb said the strategic plan included issues such as reproductive health, women’s empowerment, prevention of gender-based violence, and maternal mortality.

She said such issues go hand in hand with the strategy to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS as well as providing care and support to those who are infected and affected with the virus.

Azeb said the strategic plan also seeks to view HIV/AIDS within the context of the realities of African women and children.

The vision of the organization is to create the leadership required to ensure that the needs of the most vulnerable segments of the community are addressed. In partnership with a strong network of government agencies and donors, the organization has been able to create the required leadership.

The eTHIOPIAN First Lady said African First Ladies and members of the organization were playing a significant role in helping formulate policies which would improve the lives of women and she urged all quarters to welcome efforts of the organization and work together to create a co-ordinated strategy.

United States Under-Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero, who also attended the meeting, lauded the efforts of the African First Ladies in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

She said under the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the US had already committed approximately 25 billion USD to the fight against HIV/AIDS globally.
Approximately 50,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa were receiving anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment since the PEPFAR was launched in 2003, she added.

Today, PEPFAR directly supported life-saving treatment for more than 2.4 million people worldwide, the vast majority of whom are in sub-Saharan Africa, said Otero, who added that the US was committed to working closely with others to mount a co-ordinated response to the global burden of the disease.

“First, we are going to begin transitioning from an emergency response to a sustainable one through greater engagement with and capacity-building of governments. PEPFAR has already started this with Partnership Frameworks, which are five-year strategic plans developed in collaboration with our partner governments, including many in Africa,” she said.

“Second, we are going to focus on prevention. We are going to scale up highly effective prevention interventions like male circumcision and prevention of mother-to-child transmission, and we have set a goal of providing antiretroviral treatment to four million people.” — NNN-ENA

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