September 29, 2003

The United States Conference of Mayors Mission to Africa 2003, led by Conference President, Hempstead (NY) Mayor James A. Garner, began in Cape Town, South Africa, and continued into three other African nations of Namibia, Swaziland, and Uganda.

The largest international mission undertaken in the 71-year history of the organization, traversing four countries, this marks the beginning of a sustainable presence and partnership between U.S. mayors and African mayors to respond to the devastating impact of the AIDS pandemic in Africa through HIV/AIDS prevention advocacy, policies and programs.

The Mission to Africa, August 29'september 7, resulted from initial meetings of U.S. and African Mayors at the Second International Conference of Mayors meeting in Denver in June 2003. Participation of three African Mayors from Namibia, Swaziland, and Uganda in Denver was the first step to actualizing this partnership, which focuses primarily on the issue of HIV/AIDS in Africa and its impact on economic development and youth development in African cities and nations.

In addition to Mayor Garner, the delegation included Mayors Victor Ashe, Knoxville; Irma Anderson, Richmond (CA); C. Jack Ellis, Macon; Michael A. Guido, Dearborn; Harvey Johnson, Jackson; Elizabeth Kautz, Burnsville; Scott King, Gary; Meyera E. Oberndorf, Virginia Beach, and Conference Executive Director Tom Cochran.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors has demonstrated its commitment to ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic through many domestic projects. This mission allowed U.S. and African mayors to share their experiences and begin to build collaborative partnerships that will reach across cultural and economic barriers to devise effective solutions to combat HIV/AIDS in the U.S. and Africa.

This is a collaborative effort between the Conference of Mayors and the Alliance of Mayors and Municipal Leaders on HIV/AIDS in Africa, and is funded partially through through the following business partnersÑthe Coca-Cola Company, Motorola, Altria, and Iridium. The Centers for Disease Control also assisted with this initiative.

Delegation Meets with Cape Town Mayor and with Representatives of Chamber of Commerce

The mission began in Cape Town, South Africa, on August 29, when the delegation met with Her Worship, Mayor Nomaindia Mfeketo and members of her executive team to discuss the impact of HIV/AIDS in Cape Town and other issues, including transportation, housing, economic development, and infrastructure.

On that day, President Garner also convened a meeting with members of the Cape Town Chamber of Commerce to share experiences, approaches and best practices about HIV/AIDS, both in Cape Town and in South Africa in general. Gary Mayor Scott King, Dearborn Mayor Michael Guido, and Conference Executive Director Tom Cochran joined Mayor Garner in the meeting.

Although they briefly touched on the issues of metro economies, public-private partnerships, and the Conference of Mayors' relationship with the business community, the participants in the meeting soon found that their main focus was the impact of HIV/AIDS on the work force, and the need for education, attitudinal changes and effective programs to address the challenges business and the broader Cape Town community face.

Representing the Cape Town business community were Albert Schuitmaker, Executive Director; Dr. Edward Wessel, Past President; Dennis Skeate, Managing Director; Strobe Holdings, a Past President of the Chamber; Colin Boyes, Chamber Director; Wendy Hartshorne, Managing Director of Wendy Hartshorne Consulting; and Lee Kingma, Vice President of Human Resources for Securicor.

All agreed that business has an important role to play in addressing the HIV/AIDS issue. Both mayors and the business representatives recognized the importance of mayors throughout the world by using their bully pulpit to bring awareness to the issue of AIDS.

At the close of the meeting, Garner extended an invitation to the Cape Town Chamber of Commerce to attend a future Conference meeting to further discuss AIDS and its impact on the business community and to share best practices for addressing the AIDS challenge.

Training Session in Johannesburg with UN-AMICAALL Representatives Sets Stage for Three-Country Missions

On September 2, the delegation met in Johannesburg with the U.S. Ambassador to South Africa, Cameron R. Hume, who briefed the mayors in depth on HIV/AIDS in South Africa and the work of his Embassy on this issue.

At a subsequent meeting, Mayor Amos Masondo of Johannesburg greeted and addressed the delegation, emphasizing his support for the sharing of best practices and building partnerships between African and U.S. mayors and their cities.

In a working dinner, the Conference of Mayors delegation received briefings from Dr. David Allen, Centers for Disease Control, and from Doc Seiler, Director of Human Resources for the Ford Motor Company in South Africa. Allen emphasized that "all politics is local," and praised the long-term collaborative relationship the delegation was forging with their counterparts in Africa.

Seiler described the efforts of his company to develop an effective HIV/AIDS Workplace Program and Outreach Initiatives. Ford instituted its Workplace Program in the late 1990's. At the estimated infection rate at the time, it was estimated that the company would be turning over its entire workforce every four years by the year 2010.

The mayors divided into each of the three country teams and worked intensively with their United Nations'AMICAALL (Alliance of Mayors Initiative for Community Action on AIDS at the Local Level) representatives in preparation for their country visits: Terry Parker, Namibia; Dr. John Mugisa, Uganda; and Rudolph Maziya, Swaziland.

Namibia

Mayors Matheus Shikongo of Windhoek, the capital city, and Otto Ipinge of Otjiwarongo met Mayors James A. Garner, President, Harvey Johnson, and Scott King, accompanied by Tom Cochran, Executive Director, when they arrived in Namibia.

U.S. Ambassador to Namibia Kevin J. McGuire briefed the delegation on the crisis of HIV/AIDS in that nation and his Embassy's efforts to help combat the economic, social, and health consequences of the epidemic. Leonard Floyd, Deputy Director for Operations, Centers for Disease Control, Namibia, joined him. Twenty three percent of all Namibian adults are HIV positiveÑapproximately 250,000 Namibians. A recent study by the Namibian Ministry of Health and Social Services and UNICEF indicates that this will continue to rise to a figure just under 25 percent.

The delegation also had intensive discussions with about 40 Namibian mayors, exchanging valuable information about the challenges of HIV/AIDS, sharing observations, and forging specific next steps in the development of their partnership. During the Namibia visit, the delegation also had the opportunity to meet other leaders in the fight against HIV/AIDS, Dr. Libertine Amathila, Namibian Minister of Health and Social Services.

The Conference of Mayors delegation also visited two orphanages in Katutura — one run by Catholic Aids Action and the other, Mother's Voice Grassroots Care Project. They had the opportunity to learn about the programs in each facility from the directors, to meet the staff and volunteers who assist them, and to meet and talk with the children.

Uganda

Mayors John Sssebaana Kizito of Uganda's capital city of Kampala and David Wakudumira of Jinja, joined by other Uganda mayors from as far as 350 kilometers away, met Knoxville Mayor Victor A. Ashe, Burnsville Mayor Elizabeth Kautz, and Macon Mayor C. Jack Ellis upon their arrival in Uganda to take part in a press conference announcing their arrival at the airport in Entebbe.

U.S. Ambassador to Uganda Jimmy Kolker briefed the delegation and AMICAALL mayors on Uganda's extraordinary success in reducing the rate of HIV/AIDS prevalence levels from over 30 percent to 6 percent. Uganda is cited as Sub'saharan Africa's success story in its efforts to reduce HIV/AIDS prevalence. During the mission, the delegation interacted with orphans who lost their parents to AIDS and visited Africa's oldest AIDS Support Organization (TASO). At 880,000, Uganda has the highest number of orphans in the world.

Throughout the Ugandan mission, the delegation had the opportunity to meet other leaders in the ongoing fight against HIV/AIDS, including CDC Uganda Director Jonathan Mermin, USAID Director Vicki Moore, USAID Health and Population Officer Rob Cunnane, as well as truly dedicated Uganda Mayors including the Mayor of Soroti George M. Egunyu, the Mayor of Kamuli Peter Muwanga, the Mayor of Iganga C. Bukyabubi and the Mayor of Nkokonjeru Gita Elly.

Swaziland

On September 3, the Swaziland delegation, composed of team leader Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf, Richmond (CA) Mayor Irma Anderson, and Dearborn Mayor Michael A. Guido were greeted at the Swaziland Airport by the host city Mayor, Ezulwini Mayor Nokuthula Mthembu and U.S. Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Robert L. Dance. Dance gave a short briefing on the economic and HIV/AIDS crisis in Swaziland. The delegation then met with U.S. Ambassador James D. McGee in the capital city of Mbabane to engage in a more in-depth discussion of the Swaziland HIV/AIDS epidemic and his Embassy's ongoing efforts to combat the economic and social impact of the disease on the Swazi people.

Following their meeting with the Ambassador, the delegation proceeded to the Zondle orphanage, where the young boys who lived there greeted them. The mayors were able to engage in conversations with the young boys as well as with the staff of the orphanage. The Mayors also had the opportunity to learn about the educational and social needs of the orphanage.

Later in the visit, the delegation engaged in an intensive one-to-one dialogue with eleven Swaziland Mayors, including His Worship Victor Simelane, Mayor of Lavumisa. In June, Mayor Simelane, along with Otjiwarongo Mayor Otto Ipinge and Jinja Mayor David Wakudumira met with Garner and Conference staff at the Annual Meeting in Denver to discuss the Africa mission. During the Swaziland meeting, the mayors focused on developing and sustaining a relationship between U.S. and Swaziland mayors. The meeting centered on establishing a partnership that would focus developing the economic infrastructure and the social programming needed to adequately address the AIDS epidemic in that nation.

A Sustainable, Collaborative Partnership Launched

In every nation, the U.S. and African mayors had an opportunity to reflect upon and focus on next steps for establishing this important new sustainable and collaborative partnership. UN-AMICAALL representatives, Terry Parker in Namibia, Dr. John Mugisa in Uganda, and Rudolph Maziya in Swaziland were instrumental in planning and facilitating the effort. In each country, the U.S. Embassy and other U.S. agencies, such as CDC and AID, also offered great assistance. All participants in the mission, both African and U.S. mayors, pledged their firm commitment to working together to meet the challenge of the AIDS pandemic.