Press Release: A New Partnership with the Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS

Recently in Lusaka, African First Ladies and the Clinton Foundation took an important first step toward ensuring access to treatment for the nearly two million HIV-positive children in the forty countries represented by the members of the Organisation of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA). OAFLA President Mrs. Jeannette Kagame, First Lady of Rwanda, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Lynn Margherio, Executive Vice President of the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI), under which OAFLA and CHAI will work together to increase the number of children receiving treatment for HIV.

CHAI’s newly announced pediatric initiative will supply pediatric formulations of antiretroviral medications to kick-start pediatric treatment programs and offers technical assistance for pediatrician training and the development of pediatric protocols.

Spurred by the devastating impact of AIDS on Africa’s children, OAFLA and CHAI formed a partnership November 2004, at OAFLA’s first steering committee meeting under the leadership of Mrs. Kagame. There, a collaboration to help the 40 countries represented by OAFLA members gain access to low-cost antiretroviral medications and laboratory diagnostic equipment and materials was announced. In under six months, the OAFLA-CHAI partnership has extended access to affordable HIV drugs and tests to three additional countries. With the assistance of the First Ladies of Burundi, Mali and Kenya, CHAI has recently signed agreements with their respective governments enabling these countries to purchase medications and laboratory supplies at dramatically lower prices. These savings will make possible the expansion of their AIDS treatment programs to many more patients. CHAI?s commitment to providing access to affordable treatment and the strong advocacy of OAFLA have combined to have a profound impact on HIV treatment programs throughout the continent.

The First Ladies of OAFLA are committed to fighting HIV in their countries and, together, throughout the region. “We have to be convinced that HIV/AIDS can be defeated,” asserts Madame Kagame. “A mobilization of every possible effort will open up a world without the suffering linked to AIDS.” This fierce commitment to ending the threat of the epidemic, shared by OAFLA and CHAI, will drive forward Africa’s fight against HIV and AIDS by arming countries and treatment programs with tools to improve the quality and availability of care for all who need it.

Created in 2002, OAFLA is dedicated to reinforcing HIV/AIDS prevention, to combating discrimination and to improving treatment, care and support programs in African countries. OAFLA’s focus on women, children and vulnerable populations has given rise to the development of a continental campaign focused on youth prevention, to be launched this fall. This pediatric initiative will be integrated into the First Ladies’ Campaign. The synergy between CHAI’s technical expertise and OAFLA’s broad reach will also facilitate the sharing of best practices throughout Africa.

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