"Universal Access to HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Services by 2010"
2-4 May 2006
Abuja, Nigeria: President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the AU Commission, UN Agencies and development partners, called a Special Summit on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (A.T.M.).

African leaders, UN officials, activists and others debated on the best health institutional arrangements and health financing arrangements in Africa to combat the three diseases in Africa.

In follow up to the summit a Statement of African Leaders will be presented to the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, May 2006, the African Common Position will be submitted to the UNGASS on AIDS in New York, USA, June 2006 for consideration and the Abuja Call for Accelerated Action on HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria will be presented to the Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly in July 2006 for endorsement, and thereafter for implementation by stakeholders at national, regional, continental and international level.

In a special message to the Summit, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called for strengthened commitment in the fight against the TB emergency in the region and appealed to leaders to "do more in the fight against tuberculosis, which has been declared an emergency by Africa’s Ministers of Health and which is also the leading cause of death among people infected with HIV." He also called on African leaders "to commit to full implementation of the Stop TB Partnership's Global Plan to Stop TB."

Secretary General Kofi A. Annan message to the Special Summit of the African Union on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria

Delivered by Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director, UNAIDS
Speech excerpt:

..."We must also do more in the fight against tuberculosis, which has been declared an emergency by Africa’s Ministers of Health and which is also the leading cause of death among people infected with HIV. I call on leaders attending this Summit to commit to full implementation of the Stop TB Partnership's Global Plan to Stop TB. The Plan provides a roadmap for reversing the disease, and for driving down mortality through the expansion of treatment and prevention programmes."...

Click here for the full message.

Links for more information
http://www.abuja-auatmsummit2006.net/
http://www.africa-union.org/root/au/conferences/past/2006/may/summit/summit.htm
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2006/children_hiv_tb_malaria/en/index.html