The Alliance of Mayors and Municipal Leaders on HIV/AIDS in Africa was launched in January 1998, during the Africities meeting in Abidjan, under the leadership of the City of Abidjan, and with the support of the United Nations Development Programme. Mayors issued the Abidjan Declaration and committed themselves to work together to:

_ reduce the socio-economic impact of HIV/AIDS on their communities by implementing effective measures to reduce HIV transmission;

_ promote and co-ordinate local multisectoral approaches for HIV prevention and the care of infected and affected people;

_ participate in efforts to mobilise the human and financial resources necessary to implement local strategies;

_ ensure the active involvement of people infected and affected by the HIV epidemic in designing and implementing local strategies;

_ and strengthen solidarity amongst their cities and develop an effective partnership with national and international, public and private stakeholders.

From left to right: Mr. Jeffery Gow, Mayor Mobio, Mayor Shikongo, Mr. Ahmadou Ly, and Mayor Mavunde.

A two-year workplan was adopted by the Alliance. Since 1998, 70 municipalities from 17 countries have joined the Alliance. The Alliance has participated in international meetings and conferences, published a newsletter, prepared and disseminated its programme strategy and supported the creation of national chapters in Tanzania, Côte d'Ivoire and Swaziland.

During the second Africities meeting in Windhoek, Namibia, a special session on HIV/AIDS was organised by the Alliance. The session was opened by Mayor Mobio, Coordinator of the Alliance, Mayor Shikongo of Windhoek, and Mr. Ly, the United Nations Resident Coordinator. An overview of the impact of the epidemic and regional and municipal responses followed the opening. In the afternoon, the Alliance held its General Assembly. A report of activities was presented, as well as the programmatic strategy adopted by the Alliance. Ways of strengthening the Alliance's structure and improving its fund-raising capacities were discussed and the next biennium's workplan was approved.

Opening Remarks

Ernest N'Koumo Mobio, Mayor of Abidjan and Coordinator of the Alliance, opened the Special Session, and thanked all the participants for their presence. He stressed the importance of mayors' role in the response to the HIV epidemic at local level, noting their very unique place, as they share the same realities as their constituencies and serve as a link between local communities and national government, and the international community. He emphasised the need to strengthen the Alliance, especially at local level in the hope to slow and even stop the spread of the epidemic, and encouraged more mayors to join the Alliance and build a "network of solidarities" across the continent. He insisted on the need for municipalities to include a budget line to address HIV-related issues and mobilise additional resources to respond to the epidemic.

Mayor Mobio's comments were endorsed by M. Shikongo, the mayor of Windhoek, who spoke about the threat that the epidemic poses to human development and stressed the necessity for mayors and municipal leaders to support national policies on HIV/AIDS, and to create an enabling environment in which multisectoral approaches can be developed, and implemented at local level.

Mayor Mobio thanked UNDP for its tireless efforts and strategic inputs and paid tribute to its HIV and Development Programme for its innovative support to the Alliance.

Mr. Ahmadou Ly, United Nations Resident Coordinator, noted the devastating impact of the epidemic on African countries, and reiterated the United Nations' commitment to providing support to the sub-continent for a more effective, multisectoral response to the challenges of the epidemic on sustainable human development.