5th June, 2007
As the 33rd G8 summit approaches (Germany June 6-8) the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) welcomes that again, Africa and African health are high on the agenda.
AMREF hosted a Regional Consultation for the Commission for Africa in December 2004, resulting in an action plan for Africa to be supported and funded by the G8, the EU and other rich nations.
AMREF is concerned that two years on since the ‘African G8’, African governments and organisations still have a faint voice amongst the global debates about their own destinies and their own people. “We are concerned that decisions about how to tackle the continent’s health problems will be taken once again without engaging with the African people or African Governments. Africa has its own conventions and dynamics; systems that work in the West are often not adaptable here,” says Dr Michael Smalley, AMREF’s Director General.
Also of concern is how and where money will be spent. The German government has expressed its commitment towards stemming the spread of AIDS by raising the amount of funds it will be making available to fight HIV/AIDS to 400 million Euros. AMREF welcomes this increased funding, but urges all those working towards better health in Africa to proactively engage more fully with African communities, and solicit their views as they move forward.
The German Chancellor leading the presidency of the G8, Angela Merkel, has identified strengthening African health systems as a “pivotal issue, especially in respect to HIV/AIDS”. Dr Smalley welcomes this attention on HIV/AIDS, and urges all those working towards combating the disease to use HIV as an entry point to strengthen the wider health systems: “We believe that HIV and every challenge to good health is a war that must be fought on several fronts including fighting poverty, dealing with cultural, gender and geographical issues, and addressing the weaknesses and reach of the current health structure. Good health starts at home. We must overcome all of these challenges to the individual’s good health by strengthening the system that serves them, and making the consumer an active part of the solution.”
For further information please contact
Marsden Momanyi
AMREF Media officer
Telephone: +254 (020) 699 3328
Mobile (+254) 720 145 009
marsdenm@amrefhq.org