Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-09-08-Speech-4-112"
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"en.20050908.16.4-112"2
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".
Mr President, I would like to wholeheartedly endorse the congratulations that greeted Mr Bowis’ report this morning. I am sure that will come as no surprise to him, for he has presented a very even-handed and forward-looking report on an important subject, and I hope that it will receive the backing of an overwhelming majority in this House.
The subject of major and neglected diseases in developing countries has a considerable human rights dimension to it. The rights to health and to access to medication are primarily social issues, for it is above all the developing countries that are affected by the neglected diseases, and in them, as so often, the poorest of the poor. It is for that reason that I think it is a good thing that the Bowis Report explicitly puts these in the context of other political issues, such as, for example, the cancellation of the poorest countries’ debts.
If these countries carry on spending 40% of their gross domestic product on servicing debts, then there will be no changes in the situation or in the health systems of the countries themselves, no matter how many resolutions we adopt in this House.
I am very glad to see that Mr Bowis devotes a large part of his report to the problem of HIV/AIDS, and, as usual, takes a very progressive line on them. We must be tireless in making the point that the most important thing that can be done to combat HIV/AIDS is to prevent it, and the statement in the Bowis Report that 2004 saw new and extremely high levels of infection is an indication of a political situation of which this House has been critical for a long time, namely that there is too little funding and too little support to enable preventive measures to be properly implemented, and this criticism is primarily directed at the Bush administration in the United States.
I believe that it is wrong to approach this dogmatically, as if it were only a matter of principle, without looking at the reality of the developing countries. I am grateful to Mr Bowis for enabling us in the European Parliament to join with the Commission in showing that the European Union is going down another road.
In all the statements, whether from the non-governmental organisation ‘Médecins Sans Frontières’ or from the World Health Organisation, one point is underlined, and that is that we will not resolve the problem by relying on market forces; rather, we will get a grip on it only with massive public investment and a greater role for the public sector, not only in Europe but also in the developing countries that are affected. I believe that this point is all too seldom made, while we very often hear demands for less public intervention.
If we are serious about wanting to resolve this problem, we need an affirmation to that effect, and I was very glad to hear the Commissioner speak today about how consideration is being given to concrete measures of support, which would also involve investment in fundamental research."@en1
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