WORLD AIDS DAY MESSAGE

WORLD AIDS DAY MESSAGE

December 01, 2006

    GENEVA, Dec. 1 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- The HIV/AIDS
epidemic continues to grow. Some 40 million people, their
families, and their communities, are now living with HIV. 
Effectively tackling this epidemic remains one of the
world's most pressing public health challenges.  

    (Logo: 
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040610/CNTH001LOGO )

    In August this year, at the XVI International AIDS
Conference, 30,000 of us came together in Toronto in reply
to the Conference's call to action.  That action, we
agreed, must reflect a balanced mix of prevention,
treatment and care.  This year's World AIDS Day theme
"Accountability" reminds us again of our
responsibility for making the right choices.

    In Toronto, I spoke on the three areas in which we had
to take action: the three "Ms" of Money,
Medicines and a Motivated workforce.

    Money: We have made some important progress and
continue to do so. For example, just over half of the
latest round of grants from the Global Fund - which
totalled US$846 million -- will go to fight HIV/AIDS. 
Continued commitment is needed and resources must be used
effectively.  Accountability is an important theme for
those who want to see the best possible results in terms of
human lives. 

    Medicines: Our goal remains to scale up international
efforts to provide universal access to prevention,
treatment, care and support services.  The ten-fold
increase in people on treatment in sub-Saharan Africa in
recent years shows that we can do it. Sub-Saharan Africa
also illustrates what still has to be done: it represents
70% of the global unmet need for treatment. 

    We have a very long way to go still in the provision of
medicines to those who need them.  To be able to do that, we
must also know who needs treatment and care.

    The latest AIDS epidemic update from WHO and the UNAIDS
Secretariat, released on 21 November, gives us the most
accurate picture of the epidemic to date.  HIV surveillance
remains weak in almost all regions, particularly among
marginalized groups.  Those at highest risk -- men who have
sex with men, sex workers, and injecting drug users -- are
not reliably reached through HIV prevention and treatment
strategies. 

    At the Toronto Conference there was a powerful drive to
address the needs of those who bear the greatest burden of
the AIDS epidemic -- women and girls. Some 40% of new HIV
infections now occur among young people aged between 15 to
24 years. The most striking increases in the number of
people living with HIV have occurred in East Asia, Eastern
Europe and Central Asia.  

    Those most at risk of exposure to HIV do not always
know how to protect themselves and often do not have access
to the means to do so, such as condoms, clean needles and
syringes, and treatment for sexually transmitted
infections.  Levels of knowledge of safer sex and HIV
remain low in many countries, as well as perceptions of
personal risk.  Even in countries where the epidemic has a
very high impact, such as Swaziland and South Africa, a
large proportion of the population do not believe they are
at risk. Where prevention efforts decline, HIV infects more
people.

    Counselling and testing are essential so that people
who are infected can know their status, seek care, and
using their increased knowledge, change their behaviours to
prevent transmission of the virus to others.  Those who are
tested can also use knowledge of their status to protect
themselves. 

    A Motivated health workforce: Motivated and skilled
health workers who can provide essential services are the
crucial missing link in many countries. WHO's "Treat,
Train Retain" plan for a healthy and well supported
healthcare workforce is being developed now in 15
countries. 

    Prevention works but has to be focused on the needs of
those most likely to be exposed to HIV, and it must be
sustained.  There are success stories. In 8 out of 11 of
some of the world's most affected countries, HIV prevalence
in the age group 15 to 24 years has declined in the past
five years.  We must seize on these successes and see that
they are repeated.

    We know that comprehensive harm reduction programmes
reduce risky drug injecting practice and result in declines
in HIV infection rates.  Effective responses are being
implemented in many countries, ranging from Brazil and
China to the Islamic Republic of Iran and Indonesia.  These
experiences provide good models for other countries.

    Another key element in the epidemic -- Tuberculosis --
has recently drawn increased attention with the development
of an extremely drug resistant form that signals the urgent
need for TB control. TB causes up to half of all deaths in
people living with HIV. 

    The AIDS epidemic provides us with clear evidence that
even some of the most complex health and development
problems can be successfully addressed.  To see this
positive pattern repeated everywhere will take greater
political will and more resources. 

    Our ability to be responsive to changes in the epidemic
is a central factor if we are to succeed.  We have to be
constantly alert to shifts in the epidemic dynamic and
country contexts, aware of which approaches are successful,
and flexible enough to adapt our responses accordingly.  We
do not just need "more".  We need to commit to
clear sightedness about what is working and what is not --
and quickly apply that knowledge.

    For example, recognizing the critical role that
vulnerable and marginalized populations play in the
epidemic, we need to invest in models of service delivery
that reach these groups, ensure equitable and quality
services, and are able to provide sustainable support to
the most affected communities.

    We are now more than 25 years into this epidemic. 
People living with HIV and their communities urgently need
to see tangible results. We are at a critical juncture.
Just last week, Secretary-General Kofi Annan inaugurated
the new joint UNAIDS/WHO building in Geneva.  It is a
building which now houses the HIV, TB and Malaria staff of
WHO, side by side with the UNAIDS team.  Nothing more
clearly symbolises our determination to work as a team.  It
is a commitment to collaboration, and with that comes our
commitment also to accountability: to all those currently
living with HIV, and to all those whose lives must be
protected from it.

    All press releases, fact sheets and other WHO media
material may be found at: http://www.who.int .

    For more information, please contact:

     Christine McNab
     Acting Director, 
     WHO Communications Department
     Tel:    [phone]
     Mobile: [phone] 
     Email:  [e-mail]

SOURCE  World Health Organization