Joint NGO Press Statement
KETAM (Kenya Treatment Access Movement), TAM (Treatment Access Movement)/Nigeria, Act Up/USA, Act Up Paris/France, GMHC (Gay Mens Health Crisis)/USA, Health GAP (Global Access Project)/ USA, Jesuite Refugee Service/Kenya
www.globaltreatmentaccess.org | www.healthgap.org

Two years after the UNGASS on HIV/AIDS: activists demand action on AIDS treatment access, not more broken promises

(Nairobi) Today, during the first follow-up meeting assessing countriesâ progress in fulfilling the goals of the UNGASS Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS activists attending the 13th ICASA in Nairobi, activists called for an end to countriesâ broken promises on expanding access to AIDS treatment.

The UNGASS Declaration of Commitment set time-bound clinical and fundraising goals, agreed to by all UN Members, including a commitment to spend $10 billion annually on AIDS in poor countries. Activists claim countries are lagging far behind in attaining these goals.

During the UN meeting today, the WHO also declared lack of access to HIV treatment in developing countries a global public health emergency, and outlined a "road map" for achieving access to antiretroviral treatment for 3 million people by 2005.

"Dignitaries at the United Nations in Manhattan are discussing their slow progress in the face of the deadliest pandemic the world has seen in the last 600 years. Meanwhile in Nairobi, people living with HIV/AIDS, health care workers, and activists at the frontline of the battle against AIDS are sharing information about small, successful treatment programs that are saving lives," said James Kamu of KETAM. "The WHOâs state of emergency is nothing but a state of denial as long as donors refuse to provide the funding that is needed."

Activists acknowledge that some progress had been made in the formulation of national AIDS plans by countries since the UNGASS on HIV/AIDS in 2001. Many of these new plans lack treatment components, and without massive increases in donor country funding, even complete national strategies cannot be implemented. In addition, many developing countries are not using their rights to override patent monopolies on pharmaceuticals, in order to drive the price of medicines down through generic competition and increase access for the maximum number of people with HIV. The USA and other rich countries continue pressure developing countries not to make use of these rights, in bilateral, regional, and multilateral trade negotiations.

"More than 6 million people have died since the Declaration of Commitment was signed," said Rolake Nwagwu of the Nigerian Treatment Access Movement. "The goals of this Declaration are unattainable unless rich and poor countries show real political will. For the donor countries, that means committing the billions needed now to save lives. For recipient countries, that means prioritizing treatment access, and making full use of existing flexibilities in patent rules to procure quality generic drugs to save lives now÷no matter the pressure from rich countries."

Countries that signed the Declaration of Commitment agreed to spend $10 billion each year by 2005 to fight AIDS in poor countries; already UNAIDS has adjusted that calculation, predicting that $10.5 billion will be needed by 2005 to pay for care, support and treatment in poor countries, increasing to $15 billion in 2007. Only $4.7 billion is being spent now on global AIDS in developing countries.

Donorsâ broken funding promises are threatening the success of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The Global Fund, the only multilateral program paying for HIV treatment in poor countries, is facing a cash shortfall of $3 billion, because donor countries have not given their fair share, according to activists.

For more information: contact
Asia Russell +1 267 475 2645
Gaelle Krikorian +33 6 09 17 70 55
James Kamu : + 0254 7 2288 66 94
Rolake Nwagwu: + 721 486 557
Mercy Otim: + 254 733 888 912