Abuja AIDS appeal

The European Commission has welcomed the call for action to address the global developmental, economic, and social crises caused by HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria launched by the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan on April 26, in Abuja (Nigeria) on the occasion of the African Summit on HIV/AIDS. Mr. Annan highlighted the need for massive and sustained resource mobilization and called for the creation of a global health fund. The focus today is on HIV/AIDS and Africa; the issues are common to all major communicable diseases in all needy countries.

The Commission supports the UN call on the international community to better mobilize, manage and disburse additional resources to enable countries to mount an effective response.

The Commission echoes the call for leadership at the highest level from Africans themselves; to ensure that the right policies are in place; that problems raised by HIV/AIDS are addressed openly and reflected in national budgets, and to stimulate a society wide response. These are essential elements if an international health fund is to make a difference.

The Commission reaffirms its commitment to mount a comprehensive response to the major communicable diseases.

The Commission has set an ambitious agenda yet one that can deliver, with the support of all parties, massive developmental returns. The Commission agrees with Mr. Annan that prevention must be at the forefront of our efforts; effective programmes could have prevented many of the five million new HIV infections last year; most were young, most were Africans. The Commission must ensure that children are not infected before they are born, and that effective interventions are available to all those in need, not only for AIDS but for malaria and tuberculosis. The Commission supports making key pharmaceuticals more affordable and is encouraged by recent developments that are leading to the establishment of tiered pricing as the norm for developing countries. The Commission reiterates its invitation to governments, industry and civil society to work jointly on putting in place such a tiered pricing mechanism.

The Commission also agrees on the need to increase investment in research and development of new generations of drugs and vaccines. Finally the Commission underlines the continuing need to build effective health systems as the bedrock of all efforts.

This summit will highlight the successes of a few African countries that, through the application of dynamic leadership and effective policies, have reversed the epidemic over recent years. Their success is an example for others to follow and the Commission supports those countries that still face major challenges.

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