Heads of state of 14 southernAfrican countries will meet in Lesotho on July 4 to seek a jointplan to combat the AIDS epidemic that is killing millions in theregion and crushing economic growth, officials said today.
The 14 states, members of the Southern African DevelopmentCommunity (SADC), are all hard hit by HIV and AIDS and none hassuccessfully reduced the incidence of infection. The Lesothosummit will be the first time the issue has been discussed by somany of the region's leaders.
"We have to come together to find a regional approach," saidMs Esther Kanaimba, spokeswoman for the SADC secretariat inGaborone, the capital of Botswana.
"Despite all our efforts, the disease is not abating. Bysharing our experiences in care, treatment, and education aboutHIV/AIDS, we might be able to come up with a successful commonstrategy," she said.
The United Nations Development Programme estimates that 40percent of all HIV infections worldwide are in the SADC area,which has approximately one percent of the world's population.
Infections in southern Africa are in excess of 23.3 millionand by 2015 life expectancy in the region is expected to drop to1965 levels.
Most affected are those in the prime economically active agegroup of 15 to 49 years, and the UN has estimated that thedisease will cost South Africa alone an estimated $22 billion inlost economic development by 2010.
The 14 member states of SADC are Angola, Botswana,Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius,Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland,Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.