Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-12-01-Speech-3-132"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20041201.14.3-132"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
".
Mr President, it truly is an honour for me to stand for the first time before plenary, although I would be even happier were I here on a more pleasant subject. Unfortunately, I am appearing here for the first time so that we can debate and I can speak to you on a very important and worrying subject, by which I mean the continuing threat to our society from the scourge of HIV/AIDS.
Today in particular, on 1 December, which has been designated 'World AIDS Day', I think it is important that we exchange views and a few thoughts as to how this scourge can be combated. Today has been designated 'World AIDS Day' in order to mark, on the one hand, the progress which has been made in combating this scourge. However, more specifically, it gives us the opportunity to focus on the challenges we face and to intensify our collective efforts and consider and ask ourselves if we are doing enough.
Over recent years, most of our attention has focused on the tragic situation in sub-Saharan Africa and in developing countries in general. However, HIV/AIDS is causing very deep and constantly increasing concern here in Europe and our neighbouring countries. It is something which affects us all, here and now.
The subject of this year's global campaign against AIDS was women, girls, HIV and AIDS. This was also the subject of the annual AIDS campaign coordinated by UNAIDS. This subject is exceptionally topical. Recent epidemiological data show that, over the last two years, the number of women affected by the HIV virus increased throughout the world. While the largest increase, in the order of 58%, was in the area of eastern Asia, it is worth noting that the second largest increase was in Eastern Europe and central Asia, where it reached 48%.
Allow me to give you some statistics which were published just last week and which are particularly worrying: approximately 40 million people throughout the world are carriers of the HIV virus and almost half of them are women. In the European Union, the number of cases of HIV increased by 75% between 1996 and 2003, with the largest increase in the Baltic States. In Europe, the country which has been hardest hit by the epidemic is the Russian Federation, where it is calculated that over 800 000 people are HIV positive, 80% of whom are young people under 30 years of age. According to UNAIDS estimates, over 500 000 people in the European Union are carriers of the virus. It is clear without any doubt from these statistics that the tragic problem of HIV/AIDS is spreading more and more quickly and now has not only arrived at our door, but has also entered our house.
The European Commission is addressing the matter both inside and outside the European Union. Together with the Member States, we are the biggest donor to the Global Fund which is the main financing mechanism for combating the epidemic throughout the world. Similarly, we are intensifying our cooperation with neighbouring countries, in full recognition of the fact that they are in a particularly difficult situation. In September, the European Commission issued a paper entitled ‘Co-ordinated and integrated approach to combat HIV/AIDS within the European Union and its neighbourhoods’. Τhis paper summarises the current evaluation of the situation and the problem. It also offers a compendium of best practices for combating the recent wave of the epidemic and highlights the Commission's short-term proposals for addressing the situation.
The Commission's main commitments are to the prevention of new cases of contamination with HIV, the reduction of repercussions from the epidemic, access to antiretroviral treatment at more affordable prices, the inclusion of young people, the development of epidemiological monitoring of HIV/AIDS, more intensive research and the participation of civil society. However, I should also like to draw your attention to certain basic aspects of efforts to combat HIV/AIDS. Prevention is still the main weapon in the fight against the spread of the virus. We badly need an information campaign throughout Europe. It is important for us to bear in mind that the information campaigns of the 1980s did not address today's young people and, consequently, there is an acute need today to implement new efforts, so that we can send the message to precisely these people. Planning has already started and a conference is due to be held next week with the Member States, the international organisations and representatives of civil society on this subject. As the target of a general campaign will be the general public and young people, there is a clear need for other partners to plan and implement specialised campaigns targeted at vulnerable groups, in keeping always with the particular requirements of each group.
I should like to stress that the impression that the transmission of HIV is limited to these vulnerable groups is totally unfounded. On the contrary, HIV/AIDS is a subject which concerns us all: women, men, girls and boys, and it is a subject which concerns us here and now. It is calculated that a large percentage of people with the HIV virus living in the European Union do not know they have it. As a result, the risk of the virus spreading is increasing and, naturally, these people cannot benefit from the treatment available. Generally speaking, access to antiretroviral treatment at affordable prices would appear to be fairly good within the European Union. Nonetheless, certain Member States have expressed their concern about the future: if, or rather when, the number of cases of HIV spirals and the cost of treatment remains high. This is one of the main issues being addressed by the European Commission and it has raised it – and continues to discuss it with the Member States and the pharmaceutical industry – in the aim of finding effective ways of overcoming these problems. However, we must not underestimate the economic consequences of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which are huge. The cost of antiretroviral treatment is just one aspect of these economic consequences. At macro-economic level, HIV/AIDS results in increased health care and social security costs. It causes a drop in manpower numbers and a fall in productivity, which increase labour costs. The cumulative result is an adverse impact on investments, production and per capita income. In brief, the HIV/AIDS epidemic represents a very serious threat to global health, development and security.
However, over and above the economic aspect, HIV/AIDS is also a problem with respect to human rights. The stigma and adverse discrimination are subjects which concern Europe, as much as any other part of the planet, and they cannot be overlooked. The psychological aspect of HIV/AIDS and the isolation which it causes must be addressed with the same decisiveness. If these aspects are disregarded, the effectiveness of the aforementioned efforts of prevention and medical care will be jeopardised. The subject of HIV/AIDS can no longer be a taboo subject. It is of the utmost importance that the subject be discussed openly and that the social stigma cease at long last. Only thus will it be addressed effectively. Open discussion is an integral part of the information campaign which, in turn, will contribute most towards prevention. All of us, especially the institutions of the European Union, the European Parliament, the European Commission and, above all, the Member States, need to recognise and accept the new worrying increase in the HIV/AIDS problem. Let us stop deluding ourselves, believing that it is under control or at least contained; on the contrary, we need to step up our efforts to combat it, to the extent required for them to be effective. I am optimistic that, together, we can achieve this."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples