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against potential risks in food safety, contamination of genetic resources, ethical issues,
trade-related issues, and consumer concerns. Member States can accept or reject GMO
grain coming as food aid, but if accepted, it should be milled into flour before distribution,
and awareness generated so nothing is planted.

Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park
The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park was established as one of Africa’s largest
conservation areas when an agreement was signed on 9 December 2002 by President
Joaquim Alberto Chissano of Mozambique, President Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki of South
Africa and President Robert Gabriel Mugabe of Zimbabwe. The park covers an area of
37,500 square kilometres for the conservation of natural habitats, wildlife and
biodiversity, and restoration of migration routes. A Transfrontier Conservation
Area (TFCA) is defined in the SADC Protocol on Wildlife Conservation and Law
Enforcement (1999) as a component of a large ecological region that straddles the
boundaries of two or more countries encompassing one or more protected areas.

Maseru Summit and Declaration on the Fight against HIV and AIDS
An Extra-Ordinary Summit held in Maseru, Lesotho on 4 July 2003 hosted by King Letsie
III and chaired by President Eng. José Eduardo Dos Santos of Angola, issued the Maseru
Declaration to facilitate a multi-sectoral response to HIV and AIDS which is having a
devastating effect on the social fabric of societies in the SADC region and undermining
socioeconomic achievements. Almost two-thirds of the people of the region are impacted
48 directly or indirectly, with high morbidity rates and sharp declines in life expectancy.
SADC leaders called for a multi-sectoral response for awareness about prevention
of the disease and against stigma and discrimination, provision of antiretroviral medicines,
and care for orphans and vulnerable groups. The Summit said eradicating the virus and
the disease is a priority for SADC, and called for global solidarity to raise resources while
urging finance ministers to mobilise resources for prevention, care and support.
A ministerial meeting that preceded the Summit adopted the SADC HIV/AIDS
Strategic Framework and Plan of Action 2003-2007, which aims to intensify action by
harmonising policies and legislation, mobilising resources and reducing infections,
generating awareness and coordinating activities, as well as interventions to prevent
mother-to-child transmission.
The Framework provides a situational analysis that shows the SADC region as the
worst affected in the world with estimates that almost 10 million people have died of AIDS-
related diseases in the SADC region, with more than one million deaths in 2001, as well
as increased levels of poverty, decimated households, high-school dropouts and child-
headed households. A major challenge is the high cost of medicines including ARVs, and
Summit agreed that bulk purchasing and manufacturing would have top priority.

2003-2004 The 23 SADC Summit was held in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of

rd
Tanzania on 25-26 August 2003, hosted and chaired by President
Benjamin William Mkapa.

Approval of RISDP
Following an extensive consultative process, the Regional Indicative
Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) was approved by the 23rd SADC Summit in Dar
es Salaam in August 2003 and was launched in March 2004 in Arusha, United Republic
of Tanzania. Implementation started in 2005. The RISDP is one of the measures to
support the institutional restructuring and provide Member States with a long-term
development framework that can also inform national development plans.