Daily
Roundup for Monday, August 14, 2006
16th International AIDS Conference
Aug.
13 to 18, 2006
The Daily Roundup
for Monday, August 14 looks at the
AIDS 2006 theme – Time To Deliver – and features comments
from
Bill and Melinda Gates and former U.S. President Bill Clinton.
Canada’s Governor General Michaëlle Jean welcomed an estimated 24,000 participants from more than 170 countries to the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto on Sunday. Frika Chia Iskandar of the Asia Pacific Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS asked delegates to consider the significance of this year’s theme -- A Time to Deliver. “It means that we are beyond words, beyond talk, beyond commitments. It is time for the real thing,” said Iskandar. “At this conference we want to make changes, overcome the challenges and deliver what is most needed on the ground; deliver what is needed to improve the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS; and to deliver prevention of HIV/AIDS programs and involve more young people because prevention is still possible.”
While acknowledging
there is still much more to deliver, UNAIDS Executive Director Peter
Piot encouraged the audience to build upon the current successes of
scaling up prevention and access to treatment.
“We have our
first and perhaps our only opportunity to move the AIDS response into
an entirely other league, where we build upon our emergency actions and
put in place a long term and sustainable response,” Piot said.
Bill and Melinda
Gates, co-founders of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, highlighted
the need to put the power to prevent HIV in the hands of women, and in
particular to accelerate the development of microbicides that would allow
women to protect themselves from HIV.
“No matter where
she lives, who she is, or what she does - a woman should never need her
partner's permission to save her own life,” said Bill Gates.
On Monday, Bill Gates
and former U.S. President Bill Clinton appeared together to discuss
their priorities for ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Clinton emphasized
the need to fight stigma.
“If there is
aggressive effort against stigma and an absolute guarantee you’ll
have the medicine, the cure you need, then we could have more people know
their status, and I think more people would be willing to do whatever
is necessary not to infect others,” said Clinton. “I don't see
how we're ever going to catch up if people aren't at least aware they
could be giving the virus to other people.”
At a session on women
in the fight against HIV/AIDS, Melinda Gates also discussed overcoming
stigma. “I think you need far more people talking out and actively
saying I am HIV positive in my country; I’m living; I’m healthy;
I’m on antiretrovirals,” said Gates. “And I think as we
get more of those examples we’re going to start to break through
stigma. I think we’re just starting to see it now because it hasn’t
been that long that you could get ARVs.”
Respecting the needs and rights of HIV/AIDS affected communities was a focus of Monday’s events. Throughout the conference participants will also hear about scientific advances like novel drug treatments and new prevention approaches as well as the importance of leadership and accountability.
View
Video
(source: KaiserNetwork)
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