HIV/AIDS, Development, and the Next Generation in Africa

This international conference will focus on major, long-term questions about the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa and its implications for development over the next 25 years. Globally, over 42 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, 29 million of whom are on the African continent. The long-term impact of HIV/AIDS on the developmental aspirations of African peoples and the policy implications for governments, donor agencies, civil society and academic institutions remains under-examined and responses uncertain. Confirmed speakers from international agencies such as WHO, UNICEF, NGOs, USAID, and the UCLA School of Public Health and the School of Public Policy and Social Research will be in attendance. Please click on the title for full conference schedule and participants.

Friday, May 30, 2003
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
UCLA Faculty Center - Lounge Room
480 Young Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90095

The magnitude of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa has turned the disease into a generational threat to the future well being of millions of people in a number of countries. As productive members of society succumb to the disease, a whole generation of children throughout the world is losing parents, extended family and other caretakers to AIDS, thereby threatening the whole fabric of society. For more than a decade, various politicians, scientists, scholars and policymakers have attempted to understand this pandemic, to develop strategies for treating the disease, to deal with the economic, social and political impacts, and to devise approaches for preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS.

In both scholarly and policy circles debates rage over how to stem the pandemic. Some suggest that the most immediate need is to treat those who are presently afflicted, perhaps with new miracle drugs. Others are concerned with the ethics of the HIV/AIDS crisis. Still others are concerned with understanding the political economy of the disease, or with strategies for prevention of HIV/AIDS now and in the future. Despite increased international attention and financial resources addressing the widespread problem of HIV/AIDS, the full, long term, developmental impact of the pandemic remains under examined.

There needs to be more research on the longer term economic and social trends created by HIV/AIDS as well as the policy implications for governments, donor agencies, civil society and academic institutions. This is particularly the case given the present trends in sub-Saharan African countries where infection rates have risen past fifteen to twenty percent among adults. The unprecedented scale of the spread of the disease, particularly in many parts of Africa, as well as the slow onset nature of its impact, has a generational impact. Most responses are naturally addressed to the immediate problem of human suffering, both those who are ill as well as those who are immediately affected by the loss of relatives/providers.

Beyond the immediate costs, though, many aspects of life in African countries are being affected for the longer term. This event, organized by the UCLA Globalization Research Center - Africa in cooperation with other campus units, will provide a venue for addressing major long term questions about the HIV/AIDS pandemic and its implications for development over the next twenty five years in Africa. It will bring together practitioners and researchers who are currently working on the developmental impacts of HIV/AIDS. The event will offer to the UCLA community and a wider audience in Southern California, an opportunity to engage the difficult and wide ranging issues surrounding this pandemic.

Forum Schedule:

9:00 - 9:15 a.m. Opening Remarks
9:15 - 10:45 a.m. Global Implications of the Political Economy of HIV/AIDS in Africa: Lessons and Challenges for the Future

Moderator:  Edmond Keller, UCLA
Panelists:
Andrew Price-Smith, University of South Florida, “AIDS, Destitution and Imperiled Governance: Lessons from Southern Africa”

Vivian Derryck, Academy for Educational Development, “The Differential Impact of HIV/AIDS on Women”

Robert L. Ostergard, Jr., Binghamton University, “HIV/AIDS and the Future of Africa’s Security”

10:45 - 11:00 a.m. Break

11:00 - 12:30 p.m. Development Challenges: Taking the Long View (Roundtable)
Moderator: Donald Morisky, UCLA
Panelists:
Matthew Hodge, McGill University, “HIV/AIDS, Demographics, and Economic Development”

Khama Rogo, The World Bank, “The World Bank Response to HIV/AIDS in Africa”

Desmond Johns, UNAIDS, “The Joint UN Program on HIV/AIDS”

12:30 - 1:45 p.m. Lunch Break

1:45 - 3:15 p.m. The Social Impact of HIV/AIDS in Africa
Moderator: Charlotte Neumann, UCLA
Panelists:
Paula Tavrow, UCLA School of Public Health, “Health and Education at the Hospital and University Level”

Stephen Commins, World Bank, “Making Services Work”

Scott Chaplowe, UNOSCAL, “Civil Society at the Community Level”

3:15 - 3:30 p.m. Break

3:30 - 5:00 p.m. The View from Below: What is being done?
Moderator: Edith Mukudi, UCLA
Panelists:
Joe Muwonge, World Vision, “Orphans and Community Response in Uganda”

Eric Bing, Charles Drew Medical Center, “Angola Military HIV/AIDS Program”

Patricia Langan, International Youth Foundation, “Empowering Africa’s Young People Initiative”

5:00 Closing Remarks

Special Instructions

This forum is open and free to the public. The conference is an all-day meeting on Friday, with an afternoon break for lunch. Coffee/tea and light refreshments will be provided. Parking is available on campus for $7 in lot 2, located on Hilgard Avenue and Westholme.

For more information please contact:

CharismaAcey

grca@ucla.edu

www.globalization-africa.org

Sponsor(s): African Studies Center, UCLA International Institute, UCLA Globalization Research Center - Africa