UN states must 'dramatically scale up' HIV/Aids programmes

Two years after a special session of the UN General Assembly on HIV/Aids, many member states will not meet basic Aids prevention and care goals established at the 2001 meeting unless "efforts are dramatically scaled up", according to reports released today by the UN Secretary-General and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAids).

The reports state that the current pace of country activity on HIV/Aids is "insufficient to meet the 2005 goals" agreed to by all nations at the special session.

The goals, which focus on the rapid expansion of HIV prevention, care and impact alleviation programmes, are seen as a "vital foundation" to achieving the UN Millennium Development Goal of halting and reversing the epidemic by 2015.

One of the goals is to ensure that by 2005 at least 80% of pregnant women have access to information, counselling and treatment to prevent HIV transmission to their children. But today these services remain virtually non-existent in countries worst-affected by HIV/Aids.

"We have come a long way, but not far enough," said UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Clearly, we will have to work harder to ensure that our commitment to the fight against Aids is matched by the necessary resources and action."

Dr Peter Piot, UNAids Executive Director, said that today's reports are a "dramatic wake-up call to the world".

"The goals, set by the Member States themselves two years ago, must be met if we are going to have any realistic chance of reversing this devastating epidemic. While there has been some concrete progress, the current pace and scope of the world's response to HIV/Aids remains wholly insufficient. The 2005 goals can still be met, but only if significantly greater and sustained commitments to the global HIV/Aids epidemic are realised," he added.

Although the reports highlight countries' lack of response in many key areas, they do point to progress on some fronts. Of the 103 countries surveyed, 93% have set up comprehensive national HIV/Aids strategies and national bodies coordinating the response and 88% have increased public awareness of HIV/AIDS through media campaigns, school-based Aids education and peer education programmes. The amount of funding for Aids in low- and middle-income countries has also increased substantially in the last year.

Despite improvements, current spending is less than half of the $10 billion that will be required for an effective response to Aids in 2005 alone, the reports claimed.

(gmcg)