The Alliance of Mayors and Municipal Leaders on HIV and AIDS in Africa launches E-bulletin.

The Alliance of Mayors and Municipal Leaders on HIV and AIDS in Africa, also known as The Alliance, has launched its E-bulletin. The first edition of the E-bulletin was released on 8 May 2009.

 The E-bulletin begins with a word from the chairperson of The Alliance’s Technical Standing Committee (TSC), Mr Fisho Mwale. In his introductory word, Mr Mwale urges readers to communicate because “we are running out of time”. He goes on to stress the importance of communication as a tool for effective management and leadership. After noting some of the challenges that The Alliance faces in terms of communication, he expresses hope that the advent of the E-bulletin will “encourage and foster a new spirit of communication which will further renew our commitment to the noble cause to which we have dedicated ourselves”. 

 The first edition of the E-bulletin provides an update on recent activities and events of the Alliance. It shares progress made in the areas of communication towards the Alliance’s members, networking with potential partners, staffing of the Alliance’s Executive Secretariat, funding for the Alliance, etc.

The Alliance was established in 1998 at the 1st Africities Summit in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire and established a Secretariat in Windhoek, Namibia in 2002 with the aim of assisting local government authorities to integrate the response to HIV and AIDS in municipal functioning rather than establishing separate structures. The activities of The Alliance are driven through a strategic framework and programme known as The Alliance of Mayor’s Initiative for Community Action on AIDS at the Local Level (AMICAALL), which was developed in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Joint Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS).

In September 2008, the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLGA) and The Alliance entered into a partnership under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on matters relating to local government’s response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. This partnership is premised on the commitment shared by both organisations to mobilising local governments to respond to the pandemic effectively and deploying all forms of resources for the eradication of HIV/AIDS, human capacity development and socio-economic development of African states, cities, towns and villages. As part of the implementation of this MoU, the UCLGA and the Alliance will be embarking on a number of joint projects in the areas of advocacy and lobbying; capacity-building; knowledge sharing; and resource mobilization, among others.   

 In other news, the Cameroon National Chapter of AMICAALL released the sixth issue of its Newsletter in April 2009. The Newsletter is now available in English.

To access the first edition of The Alliance’s E-bulletin, click here.

To access the sixth edition of The Alliance’s Cameroon Chapter E-bulletin, click here.

For more information on The Alliance, visit:
Website:  http://www.amicaall.org/