§ The Earl of Listowelasked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps are being taken to achieve accurate monitoring of the prevalence of HIV/AIDS throughout Angola. [HL2269]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Amos)Over 27 years of civil war in Angola have made the systematic monitoring of HIV prevalence extremely difficult. With the arrival of peace in April 2002, the Angolan Government are now in the process of developing a national HIV/AIDS strategy which will include, among other things, a monitoring system. UNAIDS estimates that the current prevalence of HIV infection among adults (aged between 15 and 49 years) is about 5.5 per cent and rising.
Global surveillance of HIV/AIDS is a joint effort of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the joint programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), in close collaboration with national AIDS programmes and a number of other partners. DfID supports WHO and UNAIDS both financially and through collaborative efforts to scale up co-ordinated and effective responses to HIV/AIDS.
§ The Earl of Listowelasked Her Majesty's Government:
What discussions they and their international partners have had with the Government of Angola on developing an effective public health strategy to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in post-conflict Angola. [HL2330]
§ Baroness AmosUntil recently discussions between the international community and the Government of Angola on an effective public health strategy to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS have been limited. Although Angola developed its first national AIDS strategy in 1999, it was never effectively implemented. It was following the peace agreement in April 2002 that both the Government and donors began to focus greater attention on HIV. In November 2002, a National AIDS Commission, headed by President dos Santos, was established. The Ministry of Health, supported by UNAIDS, UNICEF and UNDP, has been tasked with preparing a national HIV/AIDS strategy, known as the Programa Estrategico Nacional (PEN). This process has only just begun and there has been no indication as to when it might be completed.
Last year a country co-ordinating mechanism (CCM), comprising representatives from government, donors, multilateral agencies and NGOs, was set up to prepare an integrated proposal for support from the UN Global Fund for HIV/AIDS. However, the CCM 48WA failed to reach consensus on the details of the proposal and the deadline lapsed. Continued lack of agreement may prevent the CCM from submitting a revised proposal before the new 31 May deadline. In the meantime most bilateral donors continue to channel funding for HIV/AIDS prevention through UN agencies and NGOs.
DfID is currently consulting with key partners (UNAIDS, World Bank, USAID) with a view to better supporting an effective national response.