High level meeting a historic opportunity
24 May 2006
2006 marks the five-year anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS by the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS). In the first worldwide commitment to tackle the HIV epidemic, the declaration acknowledged how HIV and AIDS constitute a global emergency. It set time-bound goals and targets aimed at stopping and reversing the spread of HIV and reducing the impact of AIDS, and covered broad areas such as leadership, prevention, care, support and treatment, and human rights.
Specifically, it declared that leadership by governments in combating HIV and AIDS is essential and their efforts should be complemented by the full and active participation of civil society, the business community and the private sector.
Unfortunately many governments have fallen short of achieving the targets set for 2003 and 2005 so the meeting will be an important occasion to monitor progress and identify and address barriers to achieving those targets.
“Despite the international community’s growing commitment to properly respond to AIDS, the 2001 Declaration of Commitment remains a vitally important expression of the action needed to overcome the HIV epidemic. Unfortunately, as Secretary General Kofi Annan’s report details, progress in realising the 2001 targets remains patchy at best and in some areas seriously wanting”, said Dr Alvaro Bermejo, Executive Director of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance.
“The priorities in the Declaration, such as ensuring that people everywhere know what to do to avoid infection, stopping mother to child transmission, providing treatment, and supporting those whose lives have been devastated by AIDS, including the world’s13 million orphans, are as important today as they were in 2001.
“We must not consign the Declaration to history, but instead make it a living document, and one to which we remain committed.”
In addition to reviewing progress in implementing the Declaration of Commitment, the UN High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS will also consider what action is necessary to scale up HIV prevention, treatment, care and support with the aim of coming as close as possible to the goal of universal access to treatment by 2010 for all those who need it.
“The Secretary General’s note ‘Scaling up HIV prevention, treatment, care and support’ will be considered at the meeting and will inform the development of a new political statement. The Alliance, together with the rest of civil society, hope that this statement will set ambitious global and national targets, with commitments to provide the resources necessary to realise universal access to HIV prevention and treatment services by 2010,” concluded Dr Bermejo.
