May I begin, Taoisech Ahern, by paying tribute to the initiative you have taken in making AIDS a central issue for Ireland’s Presidency of the European Union. In doing so, you are breaking down some of the most dangerous myths surrounding AIDS today: the myth that AIDS is only an African problem, and the myth that, on this continent, AIDS has been defeated.

Keynote speech to the Second Eastern Europe and Central Asia AIDS Conference

Where is the world HIV epidemic today? Like Winston Churchill said in 1942, “This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning”. Today, over 33 million people worldwide live with HIV. 7,400 people are newly infected every day. For every 2 persons who are placed on antiretroviral treatment, 5 people are newly infected. 2 million people still die of AIDS every year. We have yet to break the trajectory of the epidemic.

National leaders have made progress on AIDS a defining legacy of their commitment to their own people. But Africa is too dependent on external resources, especially for the AIDS response. It is time for African leaders to come together to define a transformed development paradigm that will deliver a new, socially sustainable agenda that is written and owned by Africa.

This statement is on behalf of the Secretariat and all cosponsors of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) – ILO, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNODC, WFP, WHO and the World Bank, as well as UN-Women. We appreciate the opportunity to address the linkages between HIV and gender equality as they relate to the themes under consideration during the 56th session of the Commission.

UNAIDS’ vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths is not about “absolute zero.” It is a journey that leads us to social justice and to greater distribution of opportunity for people who are not lucky.

Aujourd’hui je voudrais vous dire que la Francophonie ne constitue pas seulement un outil linguistique; la Francophonie constitue également un espace politique construit autour de valeurs communes avec un sens aigu de la solidarité.

There will be unforeseen obstacles, but it is very clear that we have started on the road to zero and have taken the first major strides in that direction.