AIDS Response

Madame President, Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen,

I deeply regret not being with you at this momentous event which brings more than 2,500 people together with a common goal—to end AIDS. Momentous because it takes place when we are at a cross-roads of the AIDS response.

Good morning. Selamat datang. Welcome to ICAAP 2009. I want to thank the organizing committee for this opportunity to review progress in our region since our meeting 2 years ago in Colombo and to identify challenges.

ESTATEMENT BY: Bertil Lindblad, Director, UNAIDS New York Office

AIDS as Health, Dignity and Security: A New Paradigm for the Future of the Global Response. Dear friends and colleagues, it is a privilege to deliver my first speech in Washington among friends and colleagues here at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

I thank Chairman Howard Berman and Congresswoman Barbara Lee for their leadership on this issue. I would also like to thank the “MSM Policy Working Group” of the Global AIDS Roundtable for organizing this Forum and inviting me to say a few words. I am honoured to share the platform with my good friend Ambassador Eric Goosby, who brings extensive experience working with the gay community’s early response to the epidemic and San Francisco and to all of you working on the front lines.

I want to thank the organizers and particularly Latida Smith for the invitation to spend some time with you today. I'd like to make sure you know the UNAIDS Washington team, Pauline Muchina, Greg Smiley and John Hassell—who I want to thank for connecting us. Most importantly, I want to thank each of you all for the difference that you make to the AIDS response.

My friends, who could fail to care about the human consequences of HIV? The most recent data published with our Cosponsors makes for somber reading. Despite tremendous progress with treatment access, we are not there yet. For every person newly on treatment, three more people are newly infected with HIV.The Church’s uncompromising position on the need for social justice—to do what is right— and on the inherent dignity of individuals, inspires us to champion for universal access to comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment, care and support as a moral imperative.

BY: Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS DATE: 01 December, 2009 PLACE: Pretoria Showgrounds, Pretoria, South Africa OCCASION: Commemoration of World AIDS Day South Africa’s Reinvigorated AIDS Response