TOKYO, Dec 7 (AFP) - International relief organisation Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) on Thursday urged an international conference on infectious diseases in Okinawa to ensure "millions of people" did not die for lack of affordable drugs.

The group which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999, made the plea as more than 100 government representatives and experts from around the world met on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa to discuss measures to tackle infectious diseases.

"Tough political choices will have to be made at Okinawa to ensure that millions of people are not just left to die because drugs are too expensive," said MSF's director of Access to Essential Medicines campaign, Dr Bernard Pecoul.

The three-day Okinawa International Conference on Infectious Diseases is aimed at clamping down on infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and polio, according to a statement from the conference secretariat.

It was designed to follow up the July Okinawa Group of Eight (G8) summit, at which leaders pledged to mobilise financial resources to fight the diseases.

"Okinawa will confirm if the G8 is up to the challenge," said Pecoul.

Participants include the director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Gro Harlem Brundtland, Zambian president Frederick Chiluba, and high-level officials from the G8, the European Commission as well as 10 other countries including Brazil, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Thailand and the Philippines.

In addition to the WHO, over 30 non-governmental organisations and international bodies such as the World Bank, UNICEF, UNESCO and the charity Oxfam were also taking part, the statement said.

MSF demanded the conference come up with concrete steps to combat disease in the developing world by pledging to reduce the price of life-saving medicines.

"World leaders must not forget that affordability of life-saving drugs is crucial and that any public funds that they commit will make a far greater impact if prices of drugs are reduced," said Pecoul.

The Japanese government said in July ahead of the G8 summit it would extend three billion dollars over five years to fund programmes against infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis (TB).

The G-8 comprises Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.

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