African Summit on HIV AIDS MALARIA and TB

For the first time, African Heads of State, the UN, the World Bank, DFID, The Global Fund, The Gates Foundation and other powerful actors are due to place HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis at the centre of their agenda in an open forum with the rest of the world.

In July 2003, the second annual Summit of the African Union will take place in Maputo to mark the changing of chairmanship from President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, to President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique. This event will define the policies for HIV, Malaria and TB for Africa this millennium.

The Interactive Health Network has been commissioned by the Government of Mozambique to maximise the impact of the Maputo meeting by holding the World Forum on Health and Development. This is a global event, unique by its interactive character. Key speakers include Mrs Graca Machel, Chair for the event in Maputo, President Chissano, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, Chairman of NEPAD, K.Y.Amoako, Executive Secretary ECA and Chairman CHGA, Dr Peter Piot, Exective Director UNAIDS, Dr Fatoumata Nafo-Traoré, Director Roll Back Malaria, Richard Feacham, Chairman of the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria, and Carol Bellamy, Executive Director UNICEF. These speakers will interact via videoconference links to Durban, London, Nairobi, Washington and New York with other key actors including Dr Mamphela Ramphele, Managing Director, the World Bank, Tommy Thompson, US Secretary of State for Health and Human Services, Professor Hoosen Coovadia from the University of Natal, and Dr Helene Gayle, Executive Director, HIV AIDS, TB and Reproductive Health from the Gates Foundation.

The event, and the technology facilitating it, provides the unique opportunity for these key actors to interact, and a platform to directly address the key issues, challenges and opportunities facing the disproportionate burden of disease experienced in Africa. Furthermore, the Forum will be broadcast live on television, radio as well as Worldspace, and web cast on the internet.

The Interactive Health Network will facilitate a series of follow up interactions and continuing communication to support the mission of NEPAD. The Maputo Summit is the first in a series of formal meetings involving policy makers in Africa on the critical issues of health and development.