General Assembly Session 57 meeting 45

Mr. Kondakov (Russia)

The HIV/AIDS pandemic seriously hinders achieving the development goals established in the Millennium Declaration and other key documents adopted at recent major United Nations forums. This problem is urgent for all countries of the world without exception. The severity of the problem is obvious, not only in Africa but also in Central and Eastern Europe, where, as members know, we have recently seen the highest rates of HIV/AIDS prevalence.

This unfortunate situation also exists in Russia, where HIV-infected people number more than 200,000. It is particularly alarming that 70 per cent of them come from the working population, ranging from 15 to 30 years of age. The number of HIV-infected women of childbearing years is growing.

The Government of Russia is taking very serious, comprehensive action in this area. A federal law to prevent the spread in the Russian Federation of diseases caused by the human immunodeficiency virus has come into force. A special federal programme on the prevention and combat of social diseases for the period 2002-2006 is being implemented, including a special subprogramme to combat HIV/AIDS. A programme to prevent mother-to-child transmission has been developed, and active cooperation is under way with our partners in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in the framework of the document signed on 13 May 2002, creating a programme of urgent measures to combat the spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in CIS countries. International cooperation is a significant support to our own efforts in combating this pandemic. We hail the cooperation in this area through the United Nations system, primarily under the auspices of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization, and that involving other international institutions, in particular the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. In our view, we need to step up efforts to mobilize resources for the Global Fund.

As is known, Russia contributed $1 million to the Fund in 2002. In our view, the fight against HIV/AIDS is now entering a new phase. Previously, creating the necessary resource base was the most urgent task. Now, what has become most urgent is making the most effective use of the resources and improving the strategy for combating HIV/AIDS.

The basic components for that strategy should be a properly balanced combination of prevention and treatment, on the one hand, and a broad-based, targeted educational campaign, on the other. Education is the most important component of the fight against HIV/AIDS. We need to devise special programmes aimed at certain groups of the population -- drug addicts, migrant workers, sex workers and young people. We see great potential for a role to be played by UNICEF, by the World Health Organization and by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS in the development of matrices for educational methodologies that could be fine-tuned for specific regions and countries. In addition, we think that assistance should be given to the training of qualified instructors.

Equally important are the social and human-rights aspects of the fight against HIV/AIDS. Therefore, we believe that consideration should be given to establishing agreed guidelines for the development of national legal guarantees for a non-discriminatory approach towards those who are left vulnerable as a result of HIV/AIDS. It is important that proper medical and social services be provided for HIV-infected families, to overcome the social stigmas associated with the disease, to resolve problems related to the death of HIV-infected persons in a humane way and to develop a hospice network. We think that such an approach, combining medical, social, institutional and legal measures, would definitely improve our effectiveness in dealing with one of the most dangerous plagues of our age -- that is, within the framework of international cooperation.

The successful attainment of the goals of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS requires a comprehensive, intersectoral approach towards public health as it is linked to economic development. That is how the report of the Secretary-General on progress in implementing the Declaration approaches the problem of HIV/AIDS. We value the report, particularly because it contains well-balanced conclusions and useful recommendations for further measures to implement the Declaration's goals. We support those conclusions and recommendations.

Mr. Manalo (Philippines)

At the outset, I wish to emphasize the great importance that my delegation attaches to this agenda item. In that regard, I wish to reaffirm my Government's commitment to addressing the problem of HIV/AIDS in all its aspects at the national, regional and international levels. My delegation also wishes to express its appreciation for the report of the Secretary-General on progress towards implementation of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS (A/57/227 and Corr.1).

Today, the scale of the AIDS crisis outstrips even the worst-case scenarios of a decade ago. Dozens of countries are in the grip of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and many more are at the brink. Based on current trends, it is projected that, between 2000 and 2020, 68 million people will die from AIDS in 45 of the most affected countries. Moreover, the HIV/AIDS pandemic shows no sign of levelling off in the hardest-hit countries, and as much as $10 billion is needed annually to fight it effectively. HIV/AIDS is a global health catastrophe that has decimated populations and left millions of children bereft of care, guidance and a secure future. By diminishing the number of productive citizens, it has also retarded economic growth and development.

The Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS establishes time-bound targets to which Governments should be held. The Declaration calls for an expanded global response in areas including leadership; prevention, care and support; human rights; orphans and children left vulnerable; research and development; and resources. We also support the United Nations system's framework for accelerated action on HIV/AIDS in four key areas. These include advocacy, including promotion of the Declaration and its endorsement by global and regional conferences; normative guidance and operational support, with an emphasis on guidance for United Nations country teams; communications and public information; and civil society support. In that regard, we welcome the efforts of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS for its monitoring and evaluation framework, tailored to the Declaration's goals and targets at both the global and national levels.

I wish to inform the Assembly that the principles of the Declaration are embodied in a Philippine law adopted in 1998. That law articulates the State's intent to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS across all sectors of our society. Following the strong commitments made by our Government through its acceptance of the goals and time-bound targets set by the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, the Philippines has taken action in support of those goals and targets. In that regard, our Government submitted a $35 million proposal last September to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, of which $13 million was proposed for the HIV/AIDS component.

The Philippines, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme, also hosted a collaborative meeting among member countries of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Greater Mekong Delta in April 2001. The Philippine experience served as the ASEAN model for responses to HIV/AIDS-related vulnerability among migrant workers. We have also participated actively in other international conferences on HIV/AIDS. At the regional level, an ASEAN task force on HIV/AIDS has been established. One of its recent activities, in which the Philippines participated, was the exchange of information during exploratory meetings on increasing access to HIV/AIDS drugs, held last June in Indonesia.

We will continue to support programmes that enhance regional and international networking, including South-South cooperation programmes on best practices with regard to dealing with this growing pandemic. We also support efforts to mainstream the HIV/AIDS issue into the development agenda, as it is a serious challenge to a people's health and to a nation's sustained growth and development. In that regard, alternative job opportunities should be provided to reintegrate people living with AIDS into their families and communities.

While many countries have developed national AIDS strategies aimed at meeting the global and national challenges encountered in implementing the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, the alarming magnitude and spread of this deadly disease urgently require focused and concerted action on the part of all nations.