A Demand for Action: HIV/AIDS and Malaria

We, the people living with HIV/AIDS in malaria endemic countries,

and the organizations and individuals that stand alongside us in unwavering support, demand access to long-lasting insecticide-treated nets, other preventative interventions, and effective malaria treatment as a vital part of our health care.

Considering that co-infection with malaria and HIV/AIDS has been identified as a major public health concern and hundreds of millions of people worldwide are impacted by the diseases every year;

Acknowledging that HIV/AIDS and malaria are linked not only by geography, but also by extreme poverty and limited access to resources such as clinical care and treatment as well;

Recognizing that current research estimates the interaction between the two diseases has, in certain settings, increased HIV infections by 8 percent and malaria episodes by 13 percent;

Recalling that people living with HIV/AIDS have been identified as a vulnerable group by the Roll Back Malaria Partnership;

Understanding that malaria fuels the AIDS epidemic by increasing HIV viral loads in co-infected individuals, thereby increasing the likelihood of transmission to sexual partners as well as mother to child transmission during pregnancy and labor;

Realizing that people living with HIV/AIDS who become infected with malaria are more likely to develop severe manifestations of malaria such as anemia and cerebral malaria and are therefore less responsive to malaria treatment and at a higher risk of death from the disease;

Concerned that pregnant HIV-positive with placental malaria infection and are more likely to experience anemia, adverse birth outcomes such as pre-term birth and intrauterine growth retardation, and deliver a low-birth-weight baby;

Recalling previous commitments made through

The Political Declaration and Further Actions and Initiatives to Implement the Commitments made at the World Summit for Social Development in March 1995,
Key Actions for the Further Implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development of 2 July 1999,
The Political Declaration and Further Action and Initiatives to Implement the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action of 10 June 2000,
The United Nations Millennium Declaration of 8 September 2000,
The Abuja Declaration and Framework for Action for the Fight Against HIV/ AIDS, Tuberculosis and other Related Infectious Diseases in Africa, 27 April 2001,
The European Union Programme for Action: Accelerated Action on HIV/ AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis in the Context of Poverty Reduction of 14 May 2001,
The Maputo Declaration on HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria and other related infectious diseases of 12 July 2003
The Copenhagen Consensus on the world's most urgent problems, including HIV/AIDS and malaria of 24 May 2004

Profoundly concerned, we call upon,

All National Ministries of Health to integrate service delivery and programs honoring and respecting the health and rights of nationals, encouraging the integration of National AIDS Councils (NAC) with NMCPs (National Malaria Control Program) and NTBCPs (National Tuberculosis Control Programme) in order to utilize existing platforms to promote more prompt and effective treatment for both conditions.

All Regional entities in areas impacted by the diseases, including the Group of 77 (G77), African Union (AU), Southern African Development Community (SADC), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Commonwealth, the Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) Group, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to provide full involvement and participation to strategically implement high quality and effective malaria programming to support and protect the health of high risk and vulnerable populations.

All International donor countries, such as the G8 (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States), for the political will to honor their past pledges to prioritize health efforts in the developing world, to increase aid to developing countries, and to fully fund their part of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria in order to scale-up programs xagainst all three disease and take the necessary steps to tackle co-infection of HIV/AIDS and malaria.

The heads of all International development agencies and multilateral and bilateral initiatives, including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Department For International Development (DFID), Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), U.S. President's Malaria Initiative (PMI), Roll Back Malaria Partnership, U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and the World Bank Booster Program for Malaria Control to continue financial and technical support to attain the highest standard of prevention, care and treatment in the fight against HIV/AIDS and malaria.

All UN Agencies, in particular the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), to acknowledge and prioritize HIV/AIDS and malaria linkages, incorporating as a matter of urgency, integrate prevention, awareness, care and treatment elements into their HIV/AIDS plans and programmes.

Major donor agencies and programs like the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria, UNITAID, PEPFAR, and the Presidents Malaria Initiative to stress the value of integrating services for HIV/AIDS and malaria by implementing such efforts, to allocate additional funding for further research on the disease linkages, and for Roll Back Malaria Partners to uphold commitments and continue to work collaboratively toward eradication of malaria.

We look forward to strong leadership and partnerships with full and active participation of all regional, sub-regional, national and international governments and networks, civil society, the business community and private sectors.