05 July 2001

World Bank Forms Partnership with NGO to Fight HIV/AIDS

By Kathryn Ellis
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Establishing a solid partnership to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic was the focus of a recent meeting between the Africa Club of the World Bank Group/International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Constituency for Africa (CFA), a non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to strengthening relations with sub-Saharan Africa.

Among those at the June 14 gathering were CFA President Melvin Foote, Africa Club chairman Dr. Sidi Jammeh, former California congressman and current CFA Chairman Ron Dellums, Senegalese Ambassador Mamadou Mansour Seck, and Congressman William Jefferson.

The Africa Club was established more than three decades ago as an association of African staff members and management of the World Bank/IMF. Under Dr. Jammeh's leadership, it has undertaken an expanded outreach program aimed at contributing to the overall African development process.

Describing this first in a series of round-table meetings as "historic," CFA's Foote added: "The only way we will succeed in finding a solution to the AIDS pandemic in Africa is to form collaborative linkages. CFA's advocacy capabilities combined with the World Bank and IMF's Africa Club's technical expertise, can only bode well for efforts to find meaningful solutions to this crisis, which now claims more than 7,500 lives a day in Africa."

Equally encouraged by the meeting, Jammeh said: "We Africans inside the World Bank/IMF structures have long admired the outstanding policy advocacy work which has been done by the CFA over the years. For our part, we fully intend for this new collaboration to play a very useful role in the fight against HIV/AIDS on the continent." Further, he said, "we also want to work with CFA to promote U.S. trade with the African continent, and to address African conflicts."

Jammeh, according to the CFA press release, believes the partnership can successfully combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic because of the influential status of both organizations. The CFA, for example, has connections in Congress, in the private sector, and with U.S. and African NGOs. Similarly, the Africa Club has influence within the World Bank and the IMF as well as a history of direct access to African leaders and their senior aides.

According to the press release, the CFA and the Africa Club believe the partnership should provide a level playing field to allow Africans to participate equally in broad-based development of the continent. The two groups also believe the partnership should aim at providing opportunities for African empowerment through a system of interaction with the World Bank, the IMF, and other multifaceted and international organizations. In addition, they believe the partnership should increase the interest of the private sector in providing direct investment and aid to current initiatives.

Ambassador Seck commented that the World Bank and the IMF are a perfect match in this partnership because they provide accurate development statistics for countries around the globe. He also stressed the importance of a redistribution of funds by governments.

An action committee consisting of five members from the Africa Club and five representatives from the CFA will meet in July. According to the CFA press release, both groups noted that it is time to "stop talking and to start acting."