Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-12-01-Speech-4-018-000"
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"en.20111201.2.4-018-000"2
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"Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, as the representative of the Polish Presidency, I have the honour of presenting the position of the European Union and the Member States on the occasion of World AIDS Day, as agreed with the European Commission and then adopted by the Council on 28 November 2011.
The European Union notes with concern the fact that women and girls are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection due to physiological, economic and social factors, inequalities and gender-related violence. Women and girls constitute more than 50% of all people living with HIV, and HIV and AIDS remain the most important cause of morbidity and mortality for women of child-bearing age. The European Union will therefore step up its activities to promote an approach which takes into account issues relating to gender, gender equality and the empowerment of women, as well as actions to promote women’s rights, in particular, the right to protect themselves against hazardous sexual behaviour, especially in the context of combating human trafficking and all forms of sexual exploitation. At the same time, attention should be paid to promoting responsible behaviour, especially among men.
The European Union draws particular attention to populations most at risk of infection, including men who have sexual relations with men, intravenous drug users, migrants, prisoners, ethnic minorities, persons providing paid sexual services and their clients. These populations are often marginalised and it can be difficult to reach out to them, which increases their vulnerability to HIV infection.
At the same time, we note with concern that most young people still have only limited access to programmes on sexual and reproductive health, providing information, skills, services and social support. It is vital to ensure wide access to specially designed prevention programmes and services, including confidential HIV testing and counselling, high-quality male and female condoms at affordable prices, comprehensive sex education, harm reduction programmes and other available prevention measures. While planning effective HIV prevention and care, one should not forget about the prevention and treatment of other sexually transmitted infections, including hepatitis B and C and tuberculosis.
We are calling for closer cooperation in this area, and the inclusion of HIV and AIDS programmes in basic health care, including programmes on sexual and reproductive health, and a strengthening of programmes and services related to the prevention and treatment of all these diseases.
The European Union recognises the need for greater involvement of people living with HIV or AIDS in all aspects of the planning, implementation and monitoring of prevention and support policies, strategies and programmes. We are aware of the crucial role played by non-governmental organisations, including organisations which bring together people and groups affected by HIV to support national and local actions in this regard.
The European Union welcomes the substantial increase in the availability of antiretroviral treatment. However, it notes with concern the differences in availability from region to region. Currently, more than 6.5 million people in low and medium-income countries are receiving antiretroviral treatment. However, there are still 8 million people who are eligible for medical treatment but who are deprived of the opportunity to receive such treatment. The results of recent research on the effectiveness of antiretroviral drugs have opened up more opportunities for HIV prevention and make it possible to fight the epidemic more effectively. We wish to emphasise our commitment to universal access to antiretroviral treatment, care and support for people living with HIV or AIDS, and the importance of involvement and investment at national level, taking into account respect for the dignity, rights and freedoms of HIV-infected persons.
The European Union welcomes the significant decrease in the number of new mother-to-child transmitted HIV infections. We reaffirm our commitment to actions aimed at universal access to the prevention of vertical infections in order to eliminate HIV infections among children and to save the lives of their mothers.
The European Union reaffirms that all persons living with HIV or AIDS, in particular, children and young people, should be able to benefit from the best available methods of care, treatment and support. Once again, we emphasise the need to integrate issues relating to HIV/AIDS and reproductive and sexual health rights into strategies and programmes at local, national, regional and international level. The Member States should protect persons living with HIV or AIDS against discrimination, stigmatisation and deprivation of their rights and freedoms.
The EU also confirms its commitment to, and support for, the abolition of restrictions on the right of entry and short- and long-term residence for people living with HIV, and the decriminalisation of homosexuality and the elimination of laws punishing it, since such legislation neither provides appropriate tools to fight the epidemic nor supports populations particularly vulnerable to infection.
The European Union acknowledges that in times of economic crisis, the appropriate allocation of available resources, including health promotion and preventive actions, is a key issue. We therefore reiterate our firm commitment to increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of programmes and services that have already been implemented, and to strengthening national health care systems and the human resources necessary to provide health care, education and social services, which are critical for the prevention and treatment of HIV infections and care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS and their support. Only by continuing our work and stepping up high-quality and effective measures, and by remedying existing shortcomings in all regards, will the European Union as a whole, and each of its Member States individually, be able to contribute significantly to reducing the number of new infections, instances of stigmatisation and discrimination and AIDS-related deaths.
Today, on World AIDS Day 2011, when we are marking the fight against AIDS, the European Union and the Member States are joining people around the world in commemorating relatives, friends and loved ones lost to AIDS, and reiterating their commitment to supporting all people living with HIV and those affected by the AIDS epidemic.
This year, we are celebrating a special anniversary: it was exactly 30 years ago that the world learned about HIV and AIDS. In December 1981, the first cases of AIDS were discovered. During these 30 years of struggle and sacrifice for millions of people, over 30 million people have lost their lives and 16 million children have been orphaned due to AIDS. HIV and AIDS have affected every country and many communities and families. It is estimated that there are currently 33.3 million people living with HIV worldwide, and that each day, 7 000 people are infected with AIDS, mainly in low and medium-income countries.
The last 30 years have also been a time of engagement and partnership to a hitherto unseen extent. The fight against HIV has taught us the significance of partnership and dialogue, and we have learned that human rights and human dignity should always be in the spotlight. Impressive progress has led to a decrease of nearly 20% in the number of new HIV infections worldwide in the last decade, and to a decrease of almost 19% in the number of AIDS-related deaths in the years 2004-2009. The greatest progress has been made in the area most affected, that is, in the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, home to two thirds of all people infected with HIV.
The European Union is proud of the fact that the efforts it has undertaken, together with key partners such as UNAIDS, the WHO, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, UNITAID, people living with HIV and civil society, have helped to achieve remarkable advances in the global fight against HIV and AIDS. In 2010, the European Union’s contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria amounted to nearly USD 1.5 billion, which represents 53% of total contributions to this fund (taking into account total contributions from the European Commission and the Member States).
Nevertheless, more than 8 million people living in low and medium-income countries still need access to effective treatment, and the number of new infections still exceeds the number of people entering therapy. This means that HIV and AIDS are still one of the biggest barriers these countries face on their road towards development. In seven countries, including five countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the number of HIV infections increased by more than 25% between 2001 and 2009. Through partnerships with these countries, the European Union will intensify its efforts to change this intolerable situation, calling for the urgent stepping up of prevention programmes and services at regional and national level, which may help to eradicate HIV and AIDS.
The European Union will play a decisive role in the fight against HIV and AIDS by strengthening its leading position, and by better adapting the activities of the institutions of the European Union to the changing context as regards HIV at global and European level. The challenge for us now is to retain AIDS as a priority and to accelerate actions taken at global, regional, national and local level in order to end this epidemic.
The European Union welcomes the comprehensive review of progress made in terms of meeting the obligations arising from all the Millennium Development Goals of the year 2000, and the ambitious targets for 2015 as set out in the political declaration on HIV/AIDS entitled ‘Intensifying Our Efforts to Eliminate HIV/AIDS’, adopted at the high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on AIDS in June 2011. Achieving these objectives will bring us closer to a world with no new HIV infections, no AIDS-related deaths and no discrimination. The European Union joins the community of people taking action against the AIDS epidemic by supporting the UNAIDS strategy: zero new infections, zero discrimination and zero HIV/AIDS-related deaths – ‘Getting to zero’ – and, on the occasion of World AIDS Day, it confirms its willingness to participate in achieving the joint task of defeating the HIV epidemic. We reaffirm the commitment of the European Union to working towards the 2015 targets, which include the initiation of antiretroviral therapy in 15 million people infected with HIV, a halving of the number of sexually transmitted infections, a halving of the number of HIV infections among intravenous drug users, the elimination of mother-to-child HIV transmission and a significant reduction in the number of AIDS-related maternal deaths.
The European Union stresses that prevention is the most effective way to halt the HIV epidemic. We need to ensure that preventive strategies are comprehensive, and are developed on the basis of available knowledge with full respect for human rights and understanding of the local context, making the fullest possible use of existing methods of prevention and, at the same time, promoting new methods and technologies."@en1
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