The First Lady, Jeannette Kagame, is in London where she is attending the second UNAIDS and LANCET Commission meeting. The meeting, running from February 13-14, will discuss the future of AIDS and global health. The commissioners will deliberate on three key issues; what it will take to end AIDS, how lessons from the AIDS response can inform global health, and how the global health and AIDS architecture can be modernised to achieve sustainable global health, according to a statement. The UNAIDS and Lancet Commission was established in May 2013 to draw lessons from the AIDS experience and find ways to move to sustainable health. The first Commission meeting was held in Lilongwe, Malawi in June 2013. Mrs. Kagame is one of the high-level commissioners. “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,” she said at last year’s meeting. 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.
