Search
  1. Home
  2. Africa
  3. Southern Africa

Poor political will hampers AIDS battle

    JOHANNESBURG

    A recent symposium has highlighted the lack of urgent action and negative attitudes as the main obstacles in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa.

    The Southern Africa Symposium on HIV/AIDS and Poverty also examined recent trends in the epidemic, critical gaps in the response and proposed partnerships for action in relation to poverty.

    The international NGO, ActionAid, called for strengthened commitment from regional governments to tackle the pandemic.

    South Africa's government news agency, BuaNews, quoted the ActionAid HIV/AIDS coordinator, Jacqueline Bataringaya, as saying: "While HIV/AIDS has been recognised as a crisis in the Southern African region, there is still no meaningful show of urgency ... HIV needs to be made an issue of governance, where those leaders who do not act sufficiently to improve the situation are held accountable."

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join