Islamabad, Pakistan | January 14–15, 2005

On January 14–15, 2005 Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), a worldwide network of over 1300 individual parliamentarians from 110 National Parliaments, and the National Assembly and Senate of Pakistan convened the Sub-regional Parliamentary Seminar on HIV/AIDS in South Asia. The seminar, hosted by PGA members Dr. Noor Jehan Panezai, MP (Pakistan)  and Mr. Naveed Qamar, MP (Pakistan) at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan was organized jointly with the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNAIDS, Aga Khan University (AKU), and with support from the Australian, British, Canadian, and Swiss Governments as well as from UNFPA and the UN Foundation. 

As reported by UNAIDS, unless effective action is taken urgently to tackle the HIV/AIDS crisis in the region, more people will be infected in Asia than in Africa by 2010. The number of people living with HIV in South and South-East Asia now totals 7.1 million. However, a window of opportunity still exists for governments to act now to curtail the spread of HIV in South Asia. Following the examples of Cambodia, Uganda, Senegal, Brazil and Thailand, which have mounted large-scale prevention programmes addressing sexual transmission of HIV, parliamentarians can make a significant difference in curtailing the epidemic.

The two-day seminar provided the legislators from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, with a forum for the dissemination of information on the nature and extent of the virus in South Asia, its modes of transmission, impact, analysis of methods and strategies proven to work in combating the virus, and, most importantly, the roles MPs can play in increasing political commitment to address the epidemic.  The inauguration included keynote addresses by H.E. Mr. Shaukat Aziz, Prime Minister of Pakistan, Hon. Muhammad Nasir Khan, Federal Minister for Health, and H.E. Dr. Nafis Sadik, Special Envoy of UN Secretary General for HIV/AIDS in Asia.  Sen. Reza Rabbani, Leader of Opposition of Pakistan, Mr. Aitzaz Ahsan, MP, and Ms. Tehmina Daultana and others presented during the discussions, focusing on the challenges of HIV/AIDS in South Asia, elements of effective prevention programmes including the ABC model, the needs of women, youth and children, and international efforts to scale up prevention, care and support including the WHO/UNAIDS ‘3 by 5 Initiative’.

Some 70 parliamentarians, including high level Ministers and Chairs of Health and Women’s Affairs Committees from their respective parliaments from all over the world also engaged in heated discussions regarding the need to combat the pandemic worldwide.  The legislators from the nations of the region as well as those representing countries with successful HIV/AIDS-related policies, such as Thailand, Uganda, Senegal, and Malaysia also shared their experiences, successes, and failures and came up with a concrete programme of action identifying a strategy for implementing the necessary HIV/AIDS programmes on both legislative and community levels, contained in the Islamabad Declaration of Action.

As the result of the meeting, the parliamentarians have agreed to hold the next sub-regional conferences in Bangladesh followed by Sri Lanka.  The delegation of Bangladeshi Parliamentarians has committed to organizing the first in the full series of follow-up meetings for 2005.  Furthermore, PGA members from Pakistan in collaboration with the Ministry of Health National AIDS Control Program and UNAIDS/Pakistan have committed to hold four provincial level meetings on the same subject matter over the course of two years.  The meetings will target provincial level legislators and bring them together with international parliamentary experts and members of National Assembly and Senate of Pakistan and will aim to build awareness within all of the levels of policymaking in Pakistan.  The first two seminars to be held in 2005 will take place in the Pakistan provinces of Sindh and Punjab.

Contact:
Mónica Adame, Program Officer
Parliamentarians for Global Action
Email: monica.adame@pgaction.org