HIV/AIDS & Sustainable Development - NGO Forum Onboard During this voyage Peace Boat hosted an international forum featuring participants from four countries to discuss AIDS in Africa as part of the lead up to the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) to be held in Johannesburg later this year. Peace Boat is the sponsor and host for the forum, which was held onboard over 12 days from Mombassa, 18th of January to Cape Town, 27th of January. The forum produced a position paper containing 29 policy recommendations that will be used to influence the agenda setting process of the WSSD. The co-ordinator of the forum was Dr Paul Saoke, Director of Programs of Physicians and Medical Workers for Social Responsibility (IPPNW) Kenya. Other representatives and experts on HIV AIDS and development issues that participated included: Dr. Elizabeth Nyambura Muhia, Kenya, Bubelwa Ephraim Kaiza Development Economist, Tanzania and Mildred Mpundu Assistant Features Editor for The Times of Zambia, Zambia. The position paper discusses how HIV AIDS is a local problem with international dimensions. The scourge of AIDS has persisted for close to two decades now, and no cure has been found. Globally there are an estimated 150 million persons affected by the HIV AIDS pandemic, mostly in the African continent. UNAIDS estimates that there are 36 million persons living with AIDS and 70% live in sub-Saharan Africa. The pandemic has drastically reduced longevity in the region by a measurable margin. National economics of most of the sub-Saharan countries have been severely affected. The effect of the pandemic is greatly felt in the agricultural sector in terms of diminished and demoralized manpower. Food security has therefore been affected severely and the threat of hunger looms. Educational and production of man- power along with the reproduction of the skills necessary for the development have also been affected. The scourge has also left 42 million orphans whose care and socialization are in serious jeopardy due to diminished economic capacity of the traditional care structures and weakened national economics. The HIV AIDS pandemic affects all sections of the society including production and consumption. Close to 400 million persons in Africa are at risk of HIV infection unless urgent action is taken to avert this looming catastrophe. The national social economic and political development structures have been adversely affected. HIV AIDS is a global development issue. In this age of the global economic system, any one region or sector whose effective participation is undermined cannot fail to have a debilitating effect on the system as a whole. Attempts to marginalise the HIV AIDS issue as an African issue is bound to have negative repercussions for the entire global community in the long term. Often discussions about HIV AIDS in Africa, particularly within international institutions are conducted in terms of statistics and indicators. While the pragmatic utility of this frame of reference is undeniable, it is imperative that sight of the humanitarian cost of this epidemic in terms of daily suffering and loss of life are never lost. Peace Boat believes that problem of AIDS in Africa requires an African-led solution and hopes to make a strong NGO based contribution to the WSSD agenda creation process. After discussing above-mentioned issues, policy recommendations were made on following issues: Treatment of AIDS, AIDS funding, Politics of AIDS, Response to HIV AIDS, Socio-economic impact of HIV AIDS and Conflict and HIV AIDS. Mombasa-Cape Town / Peace Boat's 36th Voyage