Mrs. Jeannette Kagame left and president of Ghana John Mahama
Rwanda’s First Lady Mrs. Jeannette Kagame is in London to attend the second UNAIDS and LANCET commission meeting. The commission is convening from 13-14 February 2014 to discuss the future of AIDS and global health.
The UNAIDS and Lancet Commission: Defeating AIDS — Advancing global health was established in May 2013, to draw lessons from the AIDS experience and find ways to move to sustainable health.
The Commission will deliberate on three central questions: What will it take to end AIDS? How can lessons from the AIDS response inform global health? How must the global health and AIDS architecture be modernized to achieve sustainable global health?
The first Commission meeting was held in Lilongwe, Malawi in June 2013; hosted by Commission Co-Chair, President Joyce Banda. Mrs. Jeannette Kagame is one of the high-level commissioners who delivered remarks where she stated that: “We have managed to provide care and treatment to keep many HIV+ people alive. They are still immuno-compromised and becoming increasingly susceptible to non-communicable diseases. We must be responsive and adapt to the changing nature of the disease. Africa should be ready! The worst is behind us. Now we know how to prevent, how to treat and how to care. We should move to the next step and do it yesterday”.
There are 30 commissioners known for their significant contributions to and leadership in HIV/AIDS, including politicians, scientists, medical professionals, donors and members of civil society.
These include Presidents of Benin, Ghana, and Switzerland, Prime Minister of Jamaica, First Ladies of Gabon, Japan and Rwanda, Global Fund Executive Director, AfDB President, Ministers of health and Special advisors to the UN.