East African officials meet to coordinate HIV/AIDS, transport efforts

May 22 2009

East African health officials on Tuesday met in Kisumu, Kenya, to examine integrating HIV/AIDS issues into transport policies in the region, Xinhua/CRI.com reports.

The East African Community in a statement released ahead of the conference on Monday said that the meeting, which runs through Friday, brings together more than 100 stakeholders at the national and regional levels, including experts from national AIDS commissions, as well as representatives from transport, health, trade, immigration, gender and youth ministries. Representatives from Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda are attending the conference.

Other representatives include those from the Lake Victoria Basin Commission, Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization, USAID, the International Organization for Migration, the Port Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa, East Africa Trade and Transport, and the East, Central and Southern African Health Community. Delegates from the EAC Regional Inter-Parliamentary Forum on Health, Population and Development also are attending.

The meeting aims to promote improved regional coordination and quality of HIV services for at-risk populations by bringing together national and regional efforts along major land, sea, ocean and inland transport systems. It also will provide an update on studies conducted to determine HIV transmission modes in the region, as well as identity appropriate HIV/AIDS prevention, care, treatment and support initiatives for communities located on transit hubs and corridors. According to the EAC statement, the meeting will identify ways for the transport sector to work in partnership with various implementing partners and local communities to address HIV/AIDS (Xinhua/CRI.com, 5/19).