Where does billions for HIV/AIDS in Africa go? conference aims to find out

African scientists have united with others involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS at a conference in the Nigerian capital, to pool the latest information and ideas.

According to the organisers while previous big international HIV/AIDS conferences have aimed at raising awareness of the epidemic, their focus is on finding ways to make better use of funds and implement projects more effectively.

Peter Piot, head of UNAIDS, says the number one concern of the conference is to make the money work.

The conference is the 14th International Conference on HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA).

Africa is the worst-hit continent with more than 3 million Africans newly infected with HIV in 2005, far more than in any previous year for the continent, which according to UNAIDS, represents 64 percent of all new infections globally.

Sub-Saharan Africa has about 10 percent of the world's population but 60 percent of people living with HIV.

Femi Soyinka, president of ICASA, says that as well as topics concerning scientific advances and strategies for prevention and treatment, the conference would address the question of accountability in the use of funding for HIV/AIDS projects.

Africa already receives billions of dollars in HIV/AIDS funding, mainly to pay for life-prolonging drugs and education campaigns, but the continent is one where many national healthcare systems are broken and fail dismally.

The complex web of government agencies and thousands of NGOs receiving funding, mean it is difficult to know precisely how the money is used, and experts agree that much of it does not reach the people who need it most.

What form the discussion on accountability will take, or who would contribute, Soyinka did not say.

ICASA was founded in 1986 by a group of African scientists and the conference is held every two years in African countries.

According to the organisers the current meeting aims to produce concrete recommendations that will be taken to a series of high-level meetings next year, including a U.N. General Assembly session dedicated to HIV/AIDS.