UN High Level Meeting on AIDS must agree global target of 10 million on HIV treatment by 2010

News from the International HIV/AIDS Alliance

30 May 2006: for immediate release

Global leaders meeting at a UN High Level Meeting on AIDS in New York this week must agree a global HIV treatment target as the centre piece of a plan to make universal access to HIV prevention, care and treatment a reality by 2010.

Last year leaders agreed to the goal of universal access at the G8 and the UN World Summit. Their task at the meeting this week is to agree a plan to make sure it happens. A target to give 10 million people access to HIV treatment by 2010 should be a key part of this.

“At the moment the draft plan and all its targets focus on national governments. But on their own national targets and commitments will not be enough,” said Alvaro Bermejo, Executive Director of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance. “Left to their own devices, some developing country governments will set targets that lack ambition or are too narrowly defined. Equally, without an internationally agreed target, we run the risk of letting rich countries and donor governments believe this is no longer their fight.

“The only way to ensure predictable and sustainable funding for the AIDS response, and to ensure that people who need treatment get it, is to have a global HIV treatment target.

“The UK led the G8 in adopting the original commitment to universal access, we urgently hope that it does so again at the UN this week.”

Ends

Editor’s notes

  1. The International HIV/AIDS Alliance, established in 1993, is Europe’s largest organisation focused on HIV/AIDS and international development. It works through an alliance of linking organisations in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe to mobilize and strengthen community action on HIV and AIDS. The Alliance provides technical and financial support to civil society and other organisations that support the communities most affected by HIV/AIDS. The Alliance has worked with community organisations from over 40 countries, provided financial support to over 3,000 projects (implemented by over 2,000 community and faith-based groups). Expenditure in 2005 alone was over USD 45 million.
  2. The UN High Level Meeting on AIDS takes place in New York from Wednesday 31 May until Friday 2 June. The Alliance will be posting daily updates from the meeting to a new weblog at http://aidsalliance.typepad.com/unhlm
  3. For more information about the work of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance and to arrange interviews, please contact Simon Moore. T: 01273 718744. E: smoore@aidsalliance.org or Rhian Evans. T: 01273 718961. E: revans@aidsalliance.org.