Why the G8 leaders should commit to universal access to HIV treatment and care by 2010

22 June 2005

The Alliance is part of the Stop AIDS Campaign, a mobilisation of over 70 UK based non-governmental organisations involved in the fight against AIDS. The Campaign is targeting G8 leaders right now to commit to universal access to HIV treatment by 2010. Read our campaign briefing notes here:

PRE-G8 BRIEFING: Why the G8 leaders should commit to universal access to HIV treatment and care by 2010

Why universal access to HIV treatment and care?

Failure to provide HIV treatment to the 6 million people[1] in the world who need it is one of the great inequalities of our time – people are being allowed to die of AIDS while the world has the capacity to provide life-saving treatment.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is reversing decades of social and economic development in the world’s poorest countries. Over 20 million people have already died of AIDS and 15 million children have been orphaned.[2]

Anti-retroviral (ARV) medicines and treatment for many of the symptoms of AIDS can reverse spiralling death rates, relieve pain and suffering, return workers to work and parents to parenting, and can ease the massive burden of care placed on millions of unpaid and unsupported carers - largely poor older women.

The deadline for meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is 2015. Without greater action on HIV/AIDS, it will be impossible for the most heavily affected countries to meet them. It is imperative that the HIV/AIDS epidemic is brought under control before countries are expected to meet their other MDGs. For example, MDG1 - to eradicate poverty - will not be achieved where household breadwinners are dying of AIDS and where industry, business and public services are deflated by sick and dying workforces. MDG 2 - to achieve universal primary education by 2015 - will not be met in Zambia whilst half the teachers trained each year are dying of AIDS.[3] These stories of poverty, loss and inequality are repeated over and over in many countries.

Why prioritise HIV/AIDS at G8?

This year’s G8 meeting is a critical moment for HIV/AIDS as much as it is for the wider anti-poverty campaign. It is the best opportunity to extend the momentum created by the World Health Organisation’s ‘3 by 5’ initiative[4] towards universal access to HIV treatment and care by 2010. 3 by 5 has established much of the technical groundwork to scale up access to treatment, but it is fundamentally hampered by a lack of resources and political commitment.

The G8 summit is the key political event in 2005 that can scale up the response to AIDS.

The G8 has proven it is capable of bold action – in 2001 in Genoa it launched the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (‘the Global Fund’), now providing resources in 128 countries.

How can the UK Government lead this?

The UK Government has already shown leadership and commitment to treatment scale-up. The Commission for Africa report recommends that universal access to HIV treatment should be achieved by 2010, and that Africa’s social, political and economic interests will require much greater action on AIDS than we are currently seeing. During the general election, the Labour Party made a manifesto commitment to “press for an international agreement on universal access to AIDS treatment by 2010”. We want to see this commitment made real.

What should G8 leaders do?
  1. Commit to universal access to HIV/AIDS treatment and care by 2010

    A commitment to ensuring universal access to HIV/AIDS treatment and care by 2010 should be a priority for the G8 Communiqué – it is a vital follow-on from the 3 by 5 target. It must be accompanied by policy change and full funding. An announcement without resources attached to it will achieve little and could not be supported by the Stop AIDS Campaign.

  2. Increase and improve aid, and fully fund the Global Fund

    In 2004, UNAIDS and Unicef estimated that US$12bn would be needed for HIV/AIDS by 2005 and an annual US$22 bn by 2007.[5] This contrasts with the $US6.1 billion spent in 2004 and the projected US$8bn being spent in 2005.[6] A small proportion of the extra US$50 billion needed in aid would go a long way towards filling the projected funding gap for HIV/AIDS; increases must also come from domestic resources and debt relief. At this moment, the Global Fund requires US$700m to make up a shortfall in its delayed Round 5 in October and has shortfalls of US$2.9bn and US$3.3bn for 2006 and 2007 respectively.[7] If the G8 summit does not identify an increase in aid levels, the Global Fund Replenishment Conference in September will be the first visible casualty.

  3. Immediately fill the US$2 billion funding gap for WHO 3 by 5

    WHO’s initiative to treat 3 million people by 2005 has an immediate funding gap which the G8 can fill, bringing us closer to the 3 million target by the end of 2005.

  4. Cancel debt

    Debt relief is essential for financing a global HIV/AIDS response. A minimum $10bn annual debt relief is called for by NGOs, part of which would contribute to the funding gap for HIV/AIDS and allow developing countries to invest in the building of health systems, so vital in the task of bringing access to treatment.

  5. Trade justice and access to essential medicines

    G8 leaders must renew the spirit of the commitment made in the 2001 TRIPS Doha Declaration to prioritise public health over profits in trade agreements. The August 2003 solution to allow continued import of generics must be reviewed and incorporated permanently into the TRIPS agreement.

The Stop AIDS Campaign

The Stop AIDS Campaign is part of the Make Poverty History mobilisation. It is a campaign representing over 70 UK-based organisations who are fighting AIDS in developing countries. The Stop AIDS Campaign has been an integral part of Make Poverty History, alongside the other networks on debt, aid and trade justice.

For further information, contact: the UK Consortium on 020 7251 6201 www.stopaidscampaign.org.uk

[1] WHO http://www.who.int/3by5/about/initiative/en/index.html

[2] UNAIDS. 2004 Report on the global AIDS epidemic, June 2004

[3] World Bank. Education and HIV/AIDS: A window of hope. 2002

[4] World Health Organisation. 3 million by 2005, 2003, WHO policy to bring political and technical leadership to the task of scaling up access to HIV treatment in developing countries.

[5] UNAIDS, Financing the Expanded Response to AIDS, July 2004, plus additional costings for the treatment, care and support of orphans, estimated by Unicef in Stover J et al, ‘Resources required to support orphans and vulnerable children in sub-Saharan Africa’. Unicef, New York, January 2005

[6] UNAIDS. ‘Making the Money Work’, April 2005 and UNGASS Progress Report 2 June 2005.

[7] Addressing HIV/AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria: The Resource Needs of the Global Fund 2005-2007, Global Fund, May 2005.