Price Of Inaction To Combat AIDS/HIV Warning By Experts
Conference Co-Chair, Dr. Helene Gayle, President of the International AIDS Society and President and CEO of CARE USA, said that today we have the tools and knowledge to save millions of lives. Scientific breakthroughs announced during the conference this week offer even more hope for the future. Dr. Gayle added that to squander this opportunity by doing nothing, or failing to set measurable targets when we do act, would be a travesty.
Conference Co-Chair Dr. Mark Wainberg, Toronto, Director of the McGill University AIDS Centre, said "On the treatment front, the scientific developments announced today offer real hope for people living with HIV who have limited treatment options, and also add significantly to our knowledge of how best to scale up programmes in resource-limited settings. Other data in the area of prevention will help guide efforts to reduce the estimated 4 million infections that occur each year."
Today's speakers gave chilling examples of how leaders had done nothing.
Mark Heywood, AIDS Law Project, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa talked about the similarity between China's emerging epidemic and the first years of South Africa's. He urged leaders not to throw away the opportunity to react quickly and successfully in China today. He said more pressure should be brought to bear on rich countries to boost funding so that universal access may be a reality by 2010.
Alexandra Sasha Volgina, SVECHA (CANDLE), Russian Federation, stressed the power of advocacy and protest in bringing about policy change, especially regarding securing access to appropriate prevention and treatment services for IDUs (injecting drug users) and those living with HIV/AIDS. She said the price of inaction is death.
Musimbi Kanyoro, World YWCA, said religion, politics and civil society need to be transformed so that the AIDS pandemic can be tackled effectively. Social values, he said, must be based on the realities of everyday living.
Kerrel McKay, Portland AIDS Committee, Jamaica, focused on the power of youth leadership. Youth leadership should be more involved in building programmes and initiatives, he said.
There are over 1,000 youth delegates at this conference - twice as many as there were in the AIDS 2004 Conference, Bankok.
16th International AIDS Conference, Toronto, Canada
Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Start Sanatate
Copyright: Start Sanatate
Not to be reproduced without permission of Start Sanatate
Pret lipsei de acþiune pentru combaterea combatere a HIV / SIDA de avertizare de cãtre experþi - Price Of Inaction To Combat AIDS/HIV Warning By Experts - articole medicale engleza - startsanatate