Situation in Southern Africa ---------------------------- Second Regular Session of UNICEF's Executive Board 16 - 20 September 2002 ESARO Regional Director's Presentation Mr. Urban Jonsson, Mr. President 1. Eastern and Southern Africa continues to be plagued by deepening poverty, continued armed conflicts and an increasingly devastating HIV/AIDS catastrophe. Given current trends the Millennium Development Goals will not be achieved in the region, or in sub-Saharan Africa as a whole. And that means that these goals, endorsed by so many confer- ences, will not be achieved globally. In addition to all this, South- ern Africa is experiencing a terrible crisis, manifested by extreme food shortages. It is important to understand that these different crises are interconnected and constantly reinforcing each other. I will come back to that later. 2. This year only two of the smaller countries in the region have submitted new Country Programmes of Cooperation - Botswana and Como- ros. Apart from both having a relatively small population they are very different. Botswana is one of the least poor countries in the region with a GNP of US$ 3,300 per capita, very high primary school enrolment rates and almost universal access to basic health services. It has also had remarkable political stability since independence. Comoros, on the other hand is one of the poorest countries in the re- gion with a GNP per capita of only US$ 380, very low primary school enrollment rates and low access to basic health services. The country has faced chronic political instability with more than twenty coups or attempted coups during the last 25 years. There is, however an- other significant and rather surprising difference. Botswana has the highest rate of HIV infections in the world - 38.8% of the adult population is infected, while Comoros has one of the lowest rate of HIV infections in the region - about 0.1%. The fact that the highest HIV prevalence occurs in one of Africa's wealthiest countries, rather than among the poorest raises questions, suggesting causes of HIV in- fections other than just poor access to services. 3. The new five-year UNICEF Country Programme of Cooperation in Bot- swana is the first Programme which is almost totally focused on HIV/AIDS. It is the first Country in Africa where a PMTCT Programme is being implemented on a national scale. The orphan care and support project aims directly at improving the lives of orphans and other vulnerable children, while the integrated ECD project and the girls' education project indirectly aim at preventing the spread of HIV. The Programme contributes directly to the UNDAF priorities on HIV/AIDS and poverty reduction and is well integrated with the National HIV/AIDS programme. 4. The new five-year UNICEF Country Programme of Cooperation in the Union of Comoros addresses all five UNICEF MTSP priorities. The edu- cation programme will focus on early childhood development and pri- mary education, particularly for girls. The health and nutrition pro- grammes will address child and maternal mortality, nutrition and the control of STD/AIDS. The child protection programme aims at harmoniz- ing national laws with the CRC for ensuring better protection of children. In both Botswana and Comoros the overarching strategy is community capacity development in a human rights framework. 5. Mr. President, Already in April this year the signs of an impending food crisis were obvious in several countries in Southern Africa - Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe were at particular high risks. A joint UN Consolidated Appeal (CAP) for the six countries was launched in July. At present only US$ 38 million have been committed by donors of a total request of US$ 611 million. 6. The Southern Africa Crisis has been described as primarily a food crisis. It is, however, very important to recognize that the critical shortage of food is only the most visible manifestation of a much larger and deeper crisis. In reality, it is the first significant manifestation of increased vulnerabilities created by the HIV/AIDS catastrophe in Southern Africa. The required response must therefore combine short-term measures of food distribution with health, nutri- tion, education, WES and protection interventions to mitigate the im- pact of HIV/AIDS. These are not just 'non-food items'; they are cru- cial and necessary for reducing the vulnerability to shocks like drought and flooding. Or in other words, these interventions if im- plemented rapidly and effectively will ensure the survival of mil- lions of children. 7. UNICEF response was rapid and well coordinated with the WFP and government actions. This was possible for two reasons. First, UNICEF was already on the ground before the crisis came, with support to programmes in health, nutrition, education, water and sanitation and protection. Second, as a result of the last two years support form DFID, the region has significantly strengthened its emergency prepar- edness and response capacity. In five of the six countries contin- gency plans had been prepared during the last 12 months. 8. In keeping with UNICEF's core commitments during emergencies, all six country offices have conducted rapid assessments of the situation of children and women. UNICEF is supporting therapeutic and supple- mentary feeding, training of health workers, immunization campaigns, in particular against measles, vitamin A supplementation, teaching materials, sanitation and hygiene. All planning and implementation is done in cooperation with the WFP and other partners. 9. In line with the Policy Statement of the IASC Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Abuse and Exploitation in Humanitarian Crisis, UNICEF has organized training of trainers in all six countries to support efforts to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse of children and women. UNICEF promotes strongly a zero tolerance policy. Mr. President, 10. In the GA debate yesterday all seem to agree that the New Part- nership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) provides new hope for Af- rica. After its endorsement by the OAU Summit in Durban in July 2002 it has become the overarching framework for Africa's future develop- ment. But, as we heard, the challenges are formidable. Sub-Saharan Africa with 12 per cent of the world population and only 1 per cent of the world's economy, accounts for 43 per cent of the world's child deaths, 50 per cent of maternal deaths, 70 per cent of people with HIV/AIDS and 90 per cent of all children orphaned by AIDS. I did not hear this reality in yesterday's debate. As a matter of fact, leaders from some of the most affected African countries did not even mention HIV/AIDS in their brief presentations. 11. At the OAU summit in July 2001 in Lusaka an Africa Common Posi- tion (ACP) was adopted. The ACP includes specific goals, targets and strategies aimed at creating an 'Africa Fit for Children'. NEPAD is mainly concerned with long-term development. UNICEF believes that NEPAD should include some actions to improve the situation for chil- dren and women in the short-term. As the Secretary General stated yesterday, the most urgent actions are to ensure girls' education and to intensify and focus the war against HIV/AIDS. It is very clear that Africa has no future unless this war is won. 12. One of the most serious and tragic effects of the HIV/AIDS pan- demic is the large number of children orphaned by AIDS - 11 million in Africa; 90% of the world's total. The African extended family can not extend any more, cannot cope any longer. Masses of orphans are forced to become street children, beggars and thieves and are often targets for abuse and exploitation. And even if new HIV infections would stop today, millions of new orphans would be added over the next ten years. This is a very, very serious problem that needs to be attacked immediately. 13. Last week I attended a consultation called by Nelson Mandela and Graça Machel to discuss and agree on necessary actions to deal with the orphan crisis in the next 24 months. One recommendation was to request all Parliamentarians in Africa to hold formal debates on the situation of orphans. I hope that these debates will take place and that they will be guided by Mandela's statement at the meeting. 'Every moment that is spent on deliberations that does not lead to decisive action is a moment tragically wasted.' Mr. President 14. The Black Death in 14th century Europe killed about one third of the population and changed Europe dramatically. In the same way, the HIV/AIDS pandemic will transform Africa as we know it. We know the expected impact on GNP from the HIV/AIDS pandemic. For example, by 2010 the South African economy will be 20 per cent smaller than it would have been without HIV/AIDS; a total loss of about US$17 bil- lions. We know that the private sector will be affected, both through reduced production and a switch in foreign direct investment to less affected countries. We know that the HIV/AIDS pandemic will reduce the number of teachers and health workers, both by death and by immi- gration. And we know that the number of orphans will double. What we don't know is the future impact of HIV/AIDS on governance, peace and security. Uncontrolled, the HIV/AIDS pandemic may make countries helplessly unprepared to cope with drought and floods and may ulti- mately break down societies as we know them to-day. This is what some observers call 'Aids-related national crises'. What we witness in Southern Africa to-day is the result of such 'Aids-related national crises'. This will threaten the peace and security in Africa and the whole world. -- To send a message to AFRO-NETS, write to: afro-nets@usa.healthnet.org To subscribe or unsubscribe, write to: majordomo@usa.healthnet.org in the body of the message type: subscribe afro-nets OR unsubscribe afro-nets To contact a person, send a message to: afro-nets-help@usa.healthnet.org Information and archives: http://www.afronets.org