Clearly, HIV is much more than a health issue: it is a development issue, a human rights issue, a gender issue and an inequality issue. Tackling discrimination against women is central to the AIDS response. This is why the UNAIDS family has placed gender equality and human rights at the core of its work, as one of the three pillars of its Strategy for 2011-2015, which is based on the UNAIDS vision of three zeros – zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.

We cannot afford to have a woman coming into a health-care facility for TB screening one day, then going somewhere else for HIV services on another day, and seeking other types of care at different times and places. We need to consider that a woman is not a collection of health conditions or needs, but a whole human being who requires holistic support to thrive.

Today, we can say that treatment is possible, people are living better quality lives and we are seeing less death because of the revolution that brought these medicines to people. We are seeing declines in mortality rates in many places. Malawi can say that they quickly increased the number of people on treatment, and today have seen an almost 50 percent reduction in AIDS-related deaths. So we have truly moved from despair to hope.

UNAIDS would like to call on all stakeholders to further strengthen efforts to eliminate all forms of HIV-related stigma and discrimination, and promote and protect human rights of all people living with, affected by or at risk of HIV. This is critical not only to ensure an effective response to the AIDS epidemic, but also to achieve sustainable development that is human-centered and promotes social integration and inclusion. UNAIDS will continue to work with all partners towards the achievement of these goals.

It was people living with HIV, those affected, who turned everything around in this epidemic. They made the response to HIV and AIDS a responsibility for us all. They challenged us to recognize them as people with a human right to live in health – not as victims or criminals. Over the years, they have inspired and driven progress in the AIDS response. They have been true human rights defenders - fighting for their lives and for the lives of millions of others.

Les maires francophones constituent le dernier rempart contre l’exclusion. Plus que n’importe quel autre espace, la francophonie est la mieux à même de porter cette voix. Ensemble nous pouvons mettre fin au combat contre le sida ; faire en sorte que les 18 millions vivant avec le VIH qui ne sont pas sous traitement aujourd’hui puissent y avoir accès ; et faire en sorte que l’objectif de zéro nouvelle infection à VIH, zéro discrimination et zéro décès lié au sida soit réalisé.

Let us stimulate a reenergized movement which, together with the International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, can leverage the AIDS response, in this region, and globally, as an entry point for people-centred development, respect for human rights and social transformation.

Africa is changing! This change is visible in economics and in the increasing world interest for doing business in Africa. But the winds of change on our continent also blow on culture and society. The fact that we are all here today, calling for “zero human rights violations for LGBT people in Africa” is another illustration of this change. This change is not given. It is the fruit of the struggles and activism of many in this room and across the continent.

We need to be courageous enough confront society’s wrongs. It is unacceptable that women and girls, sex workers, drug users, migrants, prisoners and men who have sex with men are assaulted, violated and murdered, and yet our conscience is not revolted, nor our sense of human dignity challenged. How can the world accept that some people have access to services while others are excluded because of race, social status, income or sexual orientation? We must reject this double standard wherever we encounter it.

La fin de l’épidémie de sida représentera un résultat d’une portée historique. Mettre fin à l’épidémie permettra non seulement de sauver des millions de vies, mais également de générer des progrès pour l’humanité entière en matière de santé, de pauvreté et d’équité.