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In opening remarks Wednesday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged attendees of the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AIDS to fight the epidemic “as never before.” “Today we gather to end AIDS,” Ban told the presidents, ministers and diplomats gathered at UN headquarters in New York. “That is our goal: zero new infections, zero stigma, and zero AIDS-related deaths.”Ban noted that a 2001 UN session on AIDS helped to improve governmental response to the epidemic, resulting in a 20 percent drop in new infections since that time. Five years ago, leaders pledged to provide universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services. Since that meeting, AIDS-related deaths have declined by 20 percent, he said.
Eliminating HIV/AIDS requires a revolution in prevention services and an end to the discrimination faced by the groups most impacted by the disease - migrants, prisoners, sex workers, drug users, and men who have sex with men, said UNAIDS chief Michel Sidibe. Young people need to be mobilized “as agents of change,” he said.
In addition, getting to zero demands continued innovations in diagnostic technologies and treatment delivery for the 9 million still in need of antiretrovirals, Sidibe noted.
“We cannot stop our investment now,” Sidibe said. With sustained research and development, “we will have a microbicide that women can use to protect themselves from HIV, and we will have a vaccine that will eradicate this virus. With an effective up-front investment, we can make the down payment to alter the costs trajectory and end this epidemic.”
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
