On May 26, in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, the meeting of AIDS Watch Africa (AWA), the Action Committee of Heads of State and Government was held on the occasion of the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the African Union.

AWA was founded in 2001 to decide the action to take to defeat AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria in Africa. The organization has taken the responsibility to monitor the yearly progress towards the final defeat of these three plagues.

The Roadmap provides for the creation of sustainable models of funding, expanding access to treatment also through a local production of drugs, and through the creation of strong leadership and governance in Africa.

With the support of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon (convinced that the efforts in this direction will improve the health and ensure the human rights of more and more African citizens), 13 African Heads of State and other 50 world leaders  gathered to examine the progress made towards the reforms concerning AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria. The attempt is to find a way to increase funding for health care, especially for these 3 major diseases in Africa that cause too many victims.

"As a leader committed to the health of the continent, we must redouble our efforts to ensure universal access to diagnosis and treatment of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, in order to achieve zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero deaths AIDS-related, as well as the elimination of tuberculosis and malaria, "said Mr. Haile Mariam Desalegne, prime minister of Ethiopia, Chairman of the African Union and AWA.

Mr. Zuma, President of South Africa, spoke at the meeting arguing that the leadership of the African Union considers AIDS, TB, Malaria and other infectious diseases "emergencies that require a courageous and unprecedented level of financial investment", claiming that "Africa is now in a stronger position to lead, define and drive its own development."

During the meeting, the Secretary of the United Nations has also praised the President of Malawi, Joyce Banda, for the work conducted in the small African country. In fact, one and a half million Malawians have free access to antiretroviral treatment, and HIV-positive pregnant women are entitled to treatment, regardless of their CD4 ( option b). Malawi has so far proven to be the country that has been able to implement more efforts in the fight against HIV / AIDS, with remarkable results.

Many African countries are preparing to follow up on this journey.