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President Obasanjo of Nigeria to Receive 2002 AIDS Leadership Award
HAI will present President Olusegun Obasanjo with the 2002 Leadership Award at a special ceremony in the Nigerian capital of Abuja on February 19, 2003.
For immediate release—Abuja, Nigeria—HAI is honored to announce that His Excellency Olusegun Obasanjo, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, will be the recipient of the AIDS Leadership Award for 2002. President Obasanjo has demonstrated exceptional leadership in addressing the AIDS crisis in the international community, as well as in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Each year HAI’s International Advisory Council—co-chaired by Mr. Maurice Tempelsman and Mrs. William McCormick Blair, Jr.—join with its senior faculty to select a leader who has displayed outstanding vision, leadership, and courage in the world’s struggle against AIDS.
"The depth of President Obasanjo’s commitment has awakened others to the urgency of the AIDS epidemic," says Professor Max Essex, chair of HAI. "The President’s leadership in addressing the epidemic is truly remarkable, because he has consistently encouraged candid dialogue on HIV while working tirelessly to mobilize resources both in Nigeria and internationally."
Nigeria is the most populous nation in Africa, with more than 120 million people. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) has reported that at the end of 2001, 5.8 percent of adults in Nigeria were living with HIV. AIDS has already orphaned at least one million Nigerian children.
In 1999, after years of military dictatorship, Olusegun Obasanjo became Nigeria’s first freely elected president in 15 years. Since then, he has made AIDS a top priority on the national agenda. He has supported and endorsed the work of the AIDS Prevention Initiative in Nigeria (APIN), an international program directed by Dr. Phyllis Kanki, Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the Harvard School of Public Health.
In August 2001, while many heads of state remained in denial about the gravity of the AIDS epidemic, President Obasanjo urged the country's military commanders to provide their troops with free condoms to curb the spread of AIDS. In March 2002, he became the first African leader to host the Organization of African Unity Summit on HIV and AIDS. In that same month the President once again demonstrated the importance of leadership when he convened a national forum, "HIV/AIDS in Nigeria: The Road Ahead" that brought together major stakeholders in the fight against the epidemic, including government agencies, non-governmental organizations, religious leaders, and donor agencies.
At the United Nations in September 2002, President Obasanjo declared "We as people and governments of Africa have resolved to take our destiny in our own hands. We are determined to succeed in our desire to make the 21st century the century of Africa."
The President’s open and frequent discussion of the AIDS epidemic has allowed numerous HIV prevention and research programs to flourish and obtain new funding from international aid agencies. The formation of the National Action Committee on AIDS was designed as a nationwide coordinating body, and has been instrumental in developing the HIV and AIDS Emergency Action Plan (HEAP) and its integration in the US$90.3 million World Bank credit to the country. The Federal Ministry of Health has been supported to design and implement a national program to prevent mother to child transmission of the virus as well as a nationwide program to deliver ARV therapy to those already infected. President Obasanjo has set an example to other African leaders in the establishment of such bold programs.
"I am especially honored to pay tribute to President Obasanjo, says Mr. Maurice Tempelsman. "His outstanding work against AIDS has begun to change the lives of his citizens and the future of his nation. I appreciate the opportunity to salute him for his tireless dedication and to hope that his bold actions will truly inspire others to commit themselves to finding solutions that will change the course of this epidemic."
HAI is dedicated to promoting research, education, and leadership to end the AIDS epidemic in Africa, Asia, and other resource-scarce settings.
Contact: HAI, Bridín Byrne, 617-432-6106
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