More Assistance Needed to Fight HIV/AIDS Says Secretary-General

"Africa is the cockpit of the fight against AIDS and if we can get it right in Africa, then there is a very great chance we can apply what we learn elsewhere in the world to stop this scourge advancing." Rt Hon The Lord Holme of Cheltenham.

The Secretary-General was addressing a meeting at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, UK, on 30 June 2005 on 'The Long-Term Financing Implications of the HIV/AIDS Pandemic: Building the International Effort to Deliver Resources'. The event was organised by the Royal African Society, the Henry Kaiser Family Foundation and the Overseas Development Institute.

"We're now seeing very high rates in the Pacific, the Caribbean and in South Asia. Tragically, far too many young people's lives, particularly young girls whose lives have been blighted as a result of this disease."

Mr McKinnon said that Commonwealth countries have the capacity to deliver change but need more development assistance, which will also help them meet the challenge of the Millennium Development Goals. The Commonwealth Secretariat helps raise awareness of HIV/AIDS and urges governments and the private sector for more action.

The Secretary-General welcomed the decision by the G7 Finance Ministers on debt write-offs for poor countries, highlighting the fact that the money can instead be channelled towards improvements in health and education. He expressed the hope that the G8 Meeting in Gleneagles, UK, from 6 to 8 July 2005, will help to see the proposals implemented.

Gareth Thomas, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the UK Department for International Development (DFID), argued that available resources must be scaled up in the fight against HIV/AIDS. "We are seeking to champion through our G8 and EU presidencies our comprehensive global response to AIDS. Not only does that mean trying to get access for all those who need the antiretroviral drugs to help them stay alive, but it also means looking at the issues around capacity in poor countries. Our priority for Africa is to focus on more aid, debt relief and fairer trading rules."

Mr Thomas explained that the UK Government is focusing on meeting the resource gap; maintaining the momentum on HIV prevention, including vaccines; and making effective use of funds to fight HIV/AIDS.

"If we do want to accelerate the fight against AIDS; if we want to use that money more effectively, getting donors to work more effectively together behind a comprehensive plan is absolutely essential. It's important that in trying to raise more resources for AIDS, we don't set up more international structures, but we do deliver those resources in support of national strategies and if possible, through national systems. We need to significantly ramp up our support, but it's also clear we need to do it in a way that doesn't place further burdens on developing countries."

Dr Pascoal Mocumbi, former Prime Minister of Mozambique and High Representative to the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership, said that many aid-recipient countries face problems of accountability and find it difficult to manage different reporting mechanisms. "You often receive funds with conditionalities. When we have that and different mechanisms of monitoring, we are more accountable to donors than to our own people. This makes it really difficult to manage. Local NGOs cannot write an appropriate report that is considered justification of a good use of money even if they do deliver care to the orphans or families that are affected by HIV/AIDS. So assistance in report-writing is very much needed as well."

Lord Holme, Chairman of the Royal African Society, shared the view that aid resources for HIV/AIDS should be better co-ordinated and should closely reflect a connection with the development agenda. "Africa is the cockpit of the fight against AIDS and if we can get it right in Africa, then there is a very great chance we can apply what we learn elsewhere in the world to stop this scourge advancing."

Mr Thomas said that the private sector can play a useful role in combating HIV/AIDS. Citing UNAIDS estimates of the substantial costs of prevention, treatment and mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS, he said some US$15 billion would be needed next year, $18 billion in 2007 and up to $22 billion in 2008 to manage this pandemic. Mr Thomas was hopeful that steps would be put in place for universal access to AIDS treatment by 2010, which the G7 Finance Ministers had signed up to and which he hoped would receive the endorsement of the G8 leaders.