Assembly/AU/5 (X) Page 1 REPORT ON AIDS WATCH AFRICA (AWA) INTRODUCTION 1. At the African Summit on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and other related Infectious Diseases (ORID) held in Abuja, Nigeria, April 2001, the Heads of State and Government adopted the Abuja Declaration and Plan of the Action on HIV/AIDS, TB and ORID. This was also Africa’s Common Position to the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS (2001) 2. During the African Summit, eight Heads of State, together with the then Secretary General of the former Organization of the African Unity (OAU) established AIDS Watch Africa (AWA). Its objective was to have an advocacy platform at the level of Heads of State and Government to mobilize more action and resources, in line with their pledges made at Abuja. AWA was chaired by the Head of State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who had also hosted the African Summit. The other AWA Members include the Heads of State and/or Government of Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda. Originally coordinated from Abuja, the AWA Secretariat was transferred to the AU Commission, Department of Social Affairs in July 2005. 3. This period after 2000 proved to be a turning point in the control of HIV/AIDS in Africa, as the following have been realized subsequent to the 2001 African Summit: - More resources have been mobilized for the response to HIV/AIDS; - More and more people have access to life-saving anti-retrovirals (ARVs); - Access to prevention, treatment, care and support has improved; - There is better coordination and harmonization of partnerships - HIV/AIDS has been kept high on socio-economic agendas at national, regional and international levels. - Stigma and discrimination against people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS have reduced SITUATION ANALYSIS 4. It is now over 25 years since HIV/AIDS emerged and quickly became a global pandemic. Africa has borne and still bears the heaviest burden of HIV/AIDS, both in economic and social development terms. African countries, in partnership with stakeholders at community, national, regional and international levels have tried their best to contain the devastation due to the pandemic. A lot has been achieved as concerns mobilization of needed resources, as well as access to prevention, treatment, care and support. However, this is nowhere near enough because the challenge is immense and will remain so for some years. Efforts to conquer HIV/AIDS should, therefore, be scaled up as complacency can reverse all that has been achieved thus far.