Malawi to host the first summit of the UNAIDS and Lancet Commission
Malawi will on June 28 to 29 host the first Summit of the United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) and Lancet Commission to discuss issues from AIDS to sustainable health.
Speaking in Lilongwe on Wednesday, Special Advisor to the President, Rev Macdonald Sembereka said the main agenda of the commission is to engage with various sectors of the global society to deliberate on strategies to ensure that the vision of the AIDS movement to new zero infections can be realized in the coming decades.
“The commission also aims at closely examining the new tenets for better global health results which include issues such as social equality for marginalized populations, empowering communities to demand better health services and accelerating access to affordable, quality medicines,” explained Rev. Sembereka.
He added that the commission would also explore opportunities to systematically reflect on evidence and make recommendations and building on on-going consultations and the findings of the UN Secretary-General’s, High Level panel of eminent person on the post-2015 and seek to influence the deliberations.
“The post-2015 agenda builds on the original eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that member states agreed to in 2000, of which goal 6 is focused on the AIDS response,” presidential special advisor explained.
The UNAIDS and Lancet Commission from AIDS to Sustainable Health was launched in May 2013 and is co-Chaired by President Dr. Joyce Banda, Chairperson Nkosazana Dlaina Zuma and Professor Peter Piot.
According to the press release by UNAIDS and Lancet, the commission aims to catalyze political momentum to shape the debate on the future of the health in the post-2015 development agenda and accelerate progress towards the ends.
“We will be encouraging them to think about what will it take to reach the end of AIDS, how the AIDS response can serve as a transformative force in our approach to global health and how to mobilize the global AIDS architecture for a more equitable, effective and sustainable future for the global health,” reads part of the statement.
The commission will hold its first summit at the Bingu International Conference Centre in Lilongwe and some of the commissioners to attend include; Boni Yayi President of Benin, Sylvia Bongo Ondimba and Jeannette Kagame first ladies of Gabon and Rwanda respectively, Luiz Inacio da Silva and Festus Mogae former Presidents of Brazil and Botswana respectively and Macdonald Kaberuka President of the African Development Bank.—Malawi News Agency
