No rooms in Dakar - We are discussing AIDS in Africa

Five thousand or more people are expected in the Senegalese capital to participate in the 15th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmissible Infections in Africa to hole from 3 to 7 December

By George Esunge Fominyen, Dakar, Senegal

If you planned to visit the Senegalese capital this week and you haven’t booked your hotel as yet, my advice to you is to cancel the trip. Everywhere is booked full as 5000 or more people are expected in the city to attend the 15th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmissible Infections in Africa (ICASA). Policy makers, governments, international organisations, various UN Agencies involved in combating HIV/AIDS, representatives of persons living with HIV and AIDS, researchers, medical experts, traditional healers, media organisations, etc are flocking in droves to Dakar. It is to attend what is undoubtedly the biggest gathering on and about this pandemic on the African continent. From 3 to 7 December they are expected to contribute in their different ways to stem the tide of this pandemic. According to organisers, it is an opportunity to assess Africa’s response to this ailment that has been taking the lives of many of her sons and daughters; leaving many as orphans and widows while many more are stigmatised and abandoned to die in ignominy. Would this conclave deliver a breakthrough? That is pretty uncertain. Will it offer an opportunity to rethink the way we approach HIV and AIDS and the people affected or living with it? That should be the case. Without being cynical, what I am certain of, is that owning a house at this very instant is a useful investment in Dakar. Almost all the hotels are fully booked.To lodge my set of visitors I had to pull out my address book and call every soul I knew in Dakar. With serious help from colleagues we scraped through the city and even visited abodes at islands. But our success was really limited. Like the ICASA organisers and other organisations sponsoring persons to the conference, the final route is to seek accommodation in non-traditional locations like in private residences. Hey! But watch out: these are not any kind of lodgings. We are talking here about a thriving business in Senegal. Rich landowners build luxurious apartments and villas that they fully equip with the best furniture just to rent out to visitors per day. They provide almost the same services as a hotel but the difference is that guests live in a luxurious home with living rooms, kitchens, etc. While most rent out each room in the mansion/villa/appartment per day, others go for a price for the thing. I must confess that lots of them would earn some really good cash within the next seven days. And they would certainly not forget ICASA. Just as they have not forgotten the Islamic Conference that held here in April. Sadly, I have the impression that for most peo.ple the souvenir of ICASA would not be about the 30 or so million people who are suffering from HIV and AIDS and what may have been said about our response to this reality. In my very small way, I intend to keep you posted on this big moment. I will be covering ICASA live on this blog... Well..., let’s say I would do my utmost. That said, without being discouraging, I’d advise anyone who hasn’t booked lodging as yet, to think twice before coming over to Dakar between 1 and 8 December 2008.