The follow-up meeting on Prevention Movement ("50 by 15") for SADC Parliamentarians (MPs) in collaboration with Civil Society (CSOs) was held at Southern Sun Hotel, Hyde Park, Johannesburg, South Africa on the 24th - 26th January 2010.
The workshop was officially opened by the SADC Parliamentary Forum Secretary General Dr Esau Chiviya and Dr Mbulawa Mugabe of UNAIDS, who both stressed the importance of strong and sustainable partnership between Parliamentarians and Civil Society in the fight against the epidemic. They also expressed the need for countries to adhere to regional agreements such as the Maseru and Abuja Declaration (Declarations??) and Plan of Action, the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), of year 2000 and the UN General Assembly Special Session Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS (2001).
The overarching objective of the January 2010 "50 by 15" meeting was to reaffirm conceptual understanding of the fundamental basis for supporting the Prevention Movement in order for Parliamentarians and Civil Society to provide the critical stewardship and high quality leadership on HIV prevention in the SADC region as espoused in various regional and international commitments on the HIV and AIDS epidemic.
The January 2010 "50 by 15" follow-up meeting built on the initial collaboration that took place from July 15th - 17th 2009, in Pretoria.
The July 2009 and subsequently January 2010 “50 by 15”meetings of the SADC MPs and Civil Society committed to the target of reducing the number of new HIV infections in the SADC region by at least 50% by 2015 , combined with the virtual elimination of mother-to-child transmission. Participants offered their knowledge and skills to the effort, and agreed to combine their respective strengths in advancing Southern Africa's 50 by 15 Prevention Movement
