HAI Submission: Impact of AIDS on Sub-Sahran Africa's Development Capacity

Ann Mette Kjaerby,

Parliamentary and Policy Advisor

APPG on PD&RH

Room 563 Portcullis House,

House of Commons

Westminster

London

SW1A 2LW

15 March 2006

Re: Population Growth and the impact on the Millennium Development Goals

Dear Ms Kjaerby,

HelpAge International welcomes the invitation of the All Party Parliamentary Group to make a submission of evidence for its inquiry into Population Growth and the impact on the Millennium Development Goals. HelpAge International is making this submission of evidence based on 23 years experience of working with disadvantaged older women and men in Africa and over 11 years experience in supporting them to deal with the impact the AIDS epidemic has on them and their families and communities.

Our submission outlines the significant trend of population ageing and explores its effect on development initiatives designed to contribute to the achievement towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGS). The submission looks at a number of MDGs in the context of population ageing and older people’s issues. It argues that in order to reach the MDGs, older people, who are amongst the poorest and most excluded in society, must be targeted and included in development initiatives. This submission makes a number of recommendations including the increased provisions of social protection measures, such as pensions and other cash transfers, as an equitable and rights-based approach to reducing extreme poverty, tackling social exclusion and achieving the MDGs.

Based on the evidence, HelpAge International recommends the All Party Parliamentary Group on Population, Development and Reproductive Health recommends that UK Department for International Development:

1. furthers the UK’s human rights obligations to the vulnerable and chronically poor by supporting the introduction of universal pension schemes and other social transfers.

2. acknowledges older women and men as effective agents of change and contributors to the aims and aspirations of the Millennium Development Goals.

3. ensures poverty analysis data is disaggregated by sex and age as well as ethnicity and disability.

4. makes gender equality a reality for women and men of all ages and throughout the life cycle, through lifelong education and employment rights for women.

5. ensures an equitable and rights-based approach to HIV/AIDS which gives the over-50s equal access to testing, counselling and treatment and acknowledges and alleviates the burden of care on women of all ages and request that DFID resources are specifically dedicated to direct transfers, including cash transfers, that will benefit older carers and those who they care for.

6. supports the expansion of surveys collecting HIV prevalence data to include women over the age of 49 and men over the age of 59 and that all HIV prevalence data be disaggregated by age and gender.

7. supports national governments to dedicate resources to national social protection systems, which encompass health, education, water and sanitation and social transfers, such as social pensions and child care grants

I enclose for your information some recent publications of HelpAge International and others that provide more detail on the issues outlined in the Memo. Should you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely

Bridget Sleap

Policy Officer

HelpAge International

PO Box 32382

London

N1 9ZN

Tel.+44 (0) 20 7278 7778

Fax. +44 (0) 20 7713 7993