OTTAWA, Aug 9, 2006 (AFP) - UN special envoy for AIDS in Africa, Stephen Lewis, on Wednesday called for rich nations to cancel the debts of the world's poorest countries to help them fight against AIDS and HIV infections.
There is an "urgent need to deal with AIDS in the context of poverty," he said at a news conference ahead of the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto.
Lewis blasted G8 leaders, saying the leading industrial nations' promises last year at a summit in Scotland for more debt relief and aid for Africa were "unraveling" or "have already been betrayed."
Only one-third of the countries most burdened by AIDS, debt and poverty could expect modest debt cancellation by mid-2006, and donors have committed less than half the funds needed to meet poverty reduction and HIV prevention targets, he said.
G8 countries had agreed to provide 0.7 percent of their gross national income for development assistance.
Lewis challenged conference host Canada to set a binding timetable to reach that target "rather than lapsing into the banalities and irrelevance to which the Canadian government seems so severely addicted."
Canada has endorsed the 0.7 percent target, but refuses to set a timetable, he said, noting that Britain has said it would reach it by 2013, France by 2012, Germany and Italy by 2015.
"That's not only delinquent but it is, as people have said, hypocritical," Lewis said.
Some 95 percent of new infections this year or five million HIV-AIDS cases are expected to appear in developing countries and those in transition, according to Joanne Csete of the Global Treatment Access Group.
She linked HIV transmission in many of these countries to "women's second class status and violations of the human rights of gay and bisexual men, sex workers, people who use drugs, prisoners and former prisoners, and migrants."
As well, most of the 40 million people worldwide already living with HIV and AIDS reside in poor countries, said Gerry Barr, co-chair of Make Poverty History.
"The connection between global poverty and the pandemic are inescapable," Barr said. "Those who are poor, those who are chronically malnourished do not do well in the struggle against HIV-AIDS."
"Poverty fuels the AIDS pandemic and it makes millions even more poor," he said.
Lewis also asked Ottawa to raise its contribution to the global fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in developing countries to five percent of the "global need" with an additional 60 million Canadian dollars in 2007.
The Canadian International Development Agency has already committed 550 million dollars to the fund, a spokeswoman said.
Lewis said Ottawa should broker talks between officials in developing nations and drug manufacturers to ensure a supply of cheap drugs.
In 2004, Canada passed a law allowing generic drug makers to export lower cost generic medicines to developing countries, but the pills have not yet left its shores.
In addition, Lewis warned Canada must not set health sector policies at home that contribute to shortages of health professionals in developing countries.
As its population ages, Canada itself faces a possible doctor shortage in the coming years. To fill the gap, provincial governments have looked abroad for recruits.
060809
AF0608E4
Copyright ©AFP 2006. All Rights Reserved. AFP articles contained on the AEGiS web site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without AFP's prior written permission. You may make one copy of each article for your personal, non-commercial use only; more copies would require AFP's prior written permission. obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP photos or materials. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP stories, photos or graphics. http://www.afp.com/
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Bridgestone Firestone Trust Fund, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2006. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
©1990, 2006 - AEGiS. AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.
