The Hindu : International : Leaders not doing enough: Annan

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Monday, Jul 12, 2004

International

International

Leaders not doing enough: Annan

American movie star Ashley Judd with an AIDS patient at a last stage ward at a hospice in Thailand on Sunday. — AP

BANGKOK, JULY 11. The International AIDS Conference opened today with United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, chiding world leaders for not doing enough to combat history's biggest epidemic, and warning that women are increasingly becoming its unwitting victims.

Three years after world leaders pledged at the U.N. to defeat the epidemic, there has been progress on many fronts, Mr. Annan said in a speech to nearly 20,000 policy makers, scientists, activists and celebrities.

``And yet, we are not doing nearly well enough,'' he said, in the first-ever appearance by the U.N. Secretary-General at an International AIDS Conference.

"We need leaders everywhere to demonstrate that speaking up about AIDS is a point of pride, not a source of shame. There must be no more sticking heads in the sand ... no more hiding behind a veil of apathy,'' he said.

Some 38 million people worldwide are infected with HIV, 25 million of them in sub-Saharan Africa and 7.6 million in Asia, according to a UNAIDS report ahead of the conference. A record 5 million people were infected last year.

The theme of the conference is getting more of the newly available anti-retroviral (ARV) drug combinations to the millions in the developing world who need them — turning AIDS from a death sentence to a chronic disease.

Asian countries, including India and China, stand to lose more than 18 million workers to AIDS over the next decade, inflicting huge losses on households and businesses and stifling economic growth, the U.N. labour agency warned today.

The disease also threatens the effectiveness of Asia's future work force by making orphans of legions of children, forcing them to end their education early, the International Labour Organisation said in a report on HIV/AIDS toll on the workplace.

By next year, 5 million people between the ages of 15-49 — prime working years — will have died of AIDS in China, India, Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia since the start of the AIDS epidemic, the report said. ``HIV/AIDS erodes the capacity for economic growth and development through low savings rates and investment, slow employment growth and pressures on government revenues,'' the report said.

The report, however, acknowledged that China and India might not see that much economic damage because of the vastness of their populations and relatively low prevalence rates.

Activists stage protest

Around 1,000 activists and protesters urged organisers of the world's biggest ever AIDS conference today to focus on providing cheaper treatment to more people.

Marking the opening day of the conference, the demonstrators staged a sit-down protest outside the conference centre, waving placards saying ``Access for All Denied'' — a play on the meeting's ``Access for All'' slogan. ``The pharmaceutical companies have created a massive business out of people's lives,'' said a Honduran activist Carlos Martel. ``They must give better access to treatment.'' - AP

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