Anglican Communion News Service

Joint Communiqué

We, former African Heads of State, religious leaders and non-governmental organisations engaged in combating HIV and AIDS, convening in Nairobi, Kenya, under the auspices of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA), have engaged in a consultative dialogue on HIV and AIDS in Africa in the context of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The purpose of this dialogue is to develop a Network of African Leaders Against HIV and AIDS, committed to providing necessary leadership to develop a dedicated long-term advocacy drive to mobilise an effective response to HIV and AIDS and to encourage active citizens as agents of change in Africa.

We are committed to collective responsibility to address HIV and AIDS as the greatest development challenge in Africa, a continent carrying 25 percent of the global disease burden of HIV and AIDS, yet forming only 10 percent of the world’s population.

We declare this to be a historic moment, in which political and religious leaders will work together with renewed commitment to overcome the HIV pandemic and reverse the current situation.

Recalling the 2001 Abuja Declaration on Health, through the stewardship of religious institutions and political leaders, we commit to overcoming all forms of inequality and taking decisive leadership in advocating for the achievement of HIV and AIDS related MDGs by 2015, through the following actions:

1. We shall intensify our focus on mobilising our communities to overcome the consequences of stigma, lack of awareness and knowledge, and shall increase care and support for people infected and affected by HIV and AIDS, including vulnerable children.
2. We shall mobilise health professionals and community health workers to develop long-term strategies for community-based initiatives against HIV and AIDS.
3. As a Pan African initiative of religious and political leaders, eminent persons and civil society, we shall mobilise partnerships with local and international stakeholders so as to engage in effective and sustainable interventions.
4. We shall provide space for dialogue between leaders and vulnerable people, including youth and people living with HIV and AIDS, so as to learn from each other and devise new solutions to address the challenges of HIV and AIDS on the continent.
5. Given the fact that all causes of conflicts in Africa cannot equal the tragedy of HIV and AIDS, we request that our governments declare a war on the HIV pandemic and proactively mobilise a powerful response.
6. We demand that as a matter of urgency, our governments translate policies into action by allocating at least 15 percent of their national budgets to health, including programmes to ensure universal access to prevention and treatment for HIV and AIDS by 2010.
7. We call upon our governments and civil society to be resilient, to develop strong capacity to overcome the challenges of the HIV pandemic, and to identify opportunities for achieving HIV and AIDS related MDG targets.
8. Given that HIV and AIDS is not only a health and moral problem, we hereby resolve to address the vulnerability of African men and women using all available cultural resources.
9. We shall facilitate the strengthening of families and social structures to withstand the impact of the HIV pandemic, by working with governments, the international community, other stakeholders and civil society.
10. We affirm the role of religious, political and cultural institutions in encouraging young and vulnerable people to take charge of their sexual and reproductive health.
11. We shall listen and dialogue with our communities, particularly those vulnerable to HIV and AIDS, and commit ourselves to speaking openly about the pandemic.
12. We resolve not to lose this opportunity to bridge the gap between medical and spiritual approaches to the pandemic.

We hereby conclude that we shall hold each other accountable to these commitments. We shall do everything within our means and power to end stigma, denial and discrimination related to HIV and AIDS, to ensure our people live in safety and health, and to assist in achieving the MDGs through an inter-faith approach. We are committed to enabling the people of Africa to live lives of dignity.

H.E. Hon. Dr. Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, Vice President of Kenya
Hon. Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim, Former Prime Minister of Tanzania and Former Secretary-General of the Organisation for African Unity
H.E. Mr. Azarias Ruberwa, Former Vice President of the Democratic Republic of Congo
H.E. Mr Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Former President of Tanzania
Archbishop Ian Arnest, Indian Ocean
Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini, Rwanda
Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, Nigeria
Archbishop Henri  Isingoma, Democratic Republic of Congo
Archbishop Valentino Mokiwa, Tanzania
Bishop Paul Yugusuk, Sudan
Bishop John Nduwayo, Burundi
Bishop Samuel S. Kaziimba, Uganda
Bishop Dr. Jo Seoka, South Africa
Bishop John Otoo, West Africa
Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, Kenya
Bishop Francis Loyo, Sudan
Archbishop Emeritus Benjamin Nzimbi, Kenya
Rachel Carnegie, United Kingdom
Archbishop Mweresa Kivuli II, OAIC
Rev. Canon Dr. Akiri Mwita, Tanzania
Rev. Canon Gideon Byamugisha
Prof. Rev. Joseph Galgalo, Kenya
Rev. Canon Naomi Waqo, Kenya
Rev. Pauline Wanjiru, EHAIA
Canon Grace Kaiso, Kenya
Prof. Miriam Were, Kenya
Katherine Lay, Oxfam GB
Rajiv Dua, Oxfam GB
Kavengo  Matundu, UN Millennium Campaign
Sylvia Mwichuli, UN Millennium Campaign
Peter Okaalet, MAP International
John Muhoho, Kenya
Jane Ng’ang’a, KENERELA
Purity Thuo, KENERELA
Beatrice Wanjohi, CMS Africa
Brian Kagoro, Action Aid
Ruth Masha, Action Aid
Emmanuel Olatunji, CAPA
Joseph Nyanzi, Uganda
Lee Hogan, Anglican Health Network
Julius Oladipo, Kenya
Joseph Wangai, Kenya
Rev. Rhoda Luvuno, Kenya
Julius Oladipo, Kenya
Nicholas Otieno, Kenya