ASEAN is committed to continuing cooperation with its partners, UNAIDS, other UN bodies, civil society organisations and the private sector toward halting and controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS.
The commitment was delivered by Permanent Representative of Vietnam Ambassador Le Luong Minh, who acted on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the UN’s General Assembly Plenary Meeting on the Implementation of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS in New York on June 9.
Minh affirmed that ASEAN is encouraged by the global response to HIV/AIDS and particularly commend the work that has been done by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) since its establishment and highly value the ongoing cooperation between UNAIDS and ASEAN.
However, the ambassador expressed concern that HIV/AIDS remains the most deadly infectious disease in the world and the leading cause of deaths among women of reproductive age, that the need for treatment still outpaces the availability of ART, that HIV/AIDS-related knowledge among young people has not yet improved, and that stigma, discrimination and punitive laws continue to undermine efforts to prevent new infections.
This situation would imply that many countries will not be able to fulfill targets on universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by the end of 2010 as set out in the Declaration of Commitment and the Political Declaration and fail to achieve Millennium Development Goal 6 which is to have halted the spread of HIV/AIDS and begun to reverse it by 2015, Minh said.
“Within the ASEAN region, we are deeply concerned that HIV/AIDS continues to threaten the lives and future of our peoples, especially the vulnerable populations, with socio-economic consequences that pose a formidable challenge to the ASEAN Community building efforts,” the ambassador stressed.
He underscored that ASEAN, as committed to implementing the Declaration of Commitment and the Political Declaration, has continuously strengthened regional cooperation to effectively respond to this epidemic, and made its own regional political commitments through concrete strategies and programmes, as exemplified at the ASEAN Summits, beginning from the seventh in Brunei in 201.
“HIV/AIDS control was especially highlighted in the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint adopted at the 14th ASEAN Summit in Thailand in 2009,” Minh emphasised.
The ambassador pointed out that an effective response to HIV/AIDS can only be made through strong national leadership, ownership, political foresight and commitment to sustainable financing, multi-sectoral coordination and partnership with civil society, including the private sector, and particularly people living with HIV/AIDS and communities vulnerable and most at risk to HIV, through region-wide and global policies that respect, protect and promote the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS and groups vulnerable and most at risk to HIV.
He, at the same time, highlighted the need to address the gender dimension of the epidemic and scale up response to those children vulnerable to, infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.
While reaffirming the need to improve comprehensive treatment, care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS, ASEAN member countries have attached great importance to addressing the core issues of poverty reduction, equity and health, Minh said.
The ambassador also underscored that ASEAN has also placed importance on creating an enabling environment for preventing the spread of HIV and reducing new infections through, inter alias, promoting public education and information campaigns on HIV/AIDS, particularly further reaching out to young women and men and vulnerable groups and putting in place necessary legislations and regulations that ensure those living with HIV/AIDS and affected groups are protected and not subjected to stigma and discrimination, and enjoy equal access to health, social welfare and education services.
Addressing the meeting, UN Deputy Secretary General Asha-Rose Migiro said the international community recorded immense gains in the fight against the deadly infectious disease as reflected in a 17 percent decrease in new HIV infections since 2001 and a 10-fold rise in the number of infected people in low and middle-income countries getting access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the recent five years.
Voicing the international community needs to do more in the fight, the UN official expressed concern about a cut in funding allocated for HIV/AIDS programmes by some countries, saying the deed would adversely impact those living with HIV/AIDS as well as efforts to halt the spread of the disease to communities.
Preventing and combating HIV/AIDS is costly, but it even costs us more if we do not act, said the UN official./.
The commitment was delivered by Permanent Representative of Vietnam Ambassador Le Luong Minh, who acted on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the UN’s General Assembly Plenary Meeting on the Implementation of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS in New York on June 9.
Minh affirmed that ASEAN is encouraged by the global response to HIV/AIDS and particularly commend the work that has been done by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) since its establishment and highly value the ongoing cooperation between UNAIDS and ASEAN.
However, the ambassador expressed concern that HIV/AIDS remains the most deadly infectious disease in the world and the leading cause of deaths among women of reproductive age, that the need for treatment still outpaces the availability of ART, that HIV/AIDS-related knowledge among young people has not yet improved, and that stigma, discrimination and punitive laws continue to undermine efforts to prevent new infections.
This situation would imply that many countries will not be able to fulfill targets on universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by the end of 2010 as set out in the Declaration of Commitment and the Political Declaration and fail to achieve Millennium Development Goal 6 which is to have halted the spread of HIV/AIDS and begun to reverse it by 2015, Minh said.
“Within the ASEAN region, we are deeply concerned that HIV/AIDS continues to threaten the lives and future of our peoples, especially the vulnerable populations, with socio-economic consequences that pose a formidable challenge to the ASEAN Community building efforts,” the ambassador stressed.
He underscored that ASEAN, as committed to implementing the Declaration of Commitment and the Political Declaration, has continuously strengthened regional cooperation to effectively respond to this epidemic, and made its own regional political commitments through concrete strategies and programmes, as exemplified at the ASEAN Summits, beginning from the seventh in Brunei in 201.
“HIV/AIDS control was especially highlighted in the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint adopted at the 14th ASEAN Summit in Thailand in 2009,” Minh emphasised.
The ambassador pointed out that an effective response to HIV/AIDS can only be made through strong national leadership, ownership, political foresight and commitment to sustainable financing, multi-sectoral coordination and partnership with civil society, including the private sector, and particularly people living with HIV/AIDS and communities vulnerable and most at risk to HIV, through region-wide and global policies that respect, protect and promote the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS and groups vulnerable and most at risk to HIV.
He, at the same time, highlighted the need to address the gender dimension of the epidemic and scale up response to those children vulnerable to, infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.
While reaffirming the need to improve comprehensive treatment, care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS, ASEAN member countries have attached great importance to addressing the core issues of poverty reduction, equity and health, Minh said.
The ambassador also underscored that ASEAN has also placed importance on creating an enabling environment for preventing the spread of HIV and reducing new infections through, inter alias, promoting public education and information campaigns on HIV/AIDS, particularly further reaching out to young women and men and vulnerable groups and putting in place necessary legislations and regulations that ensure those living with HIV/AIDS and affected groups are protected and not subjected to stigma and discrimination, and enjoy equal access to health, social welfare and education services.
Addressing the meeting, UN Deputy Secretary General Asha-Rose Migiro said the international community recorded immense gains in the fight against the deadly infectious disease as reflected in a 17 percent decrease in new HIV infections since 2001 and a 10-fold rise in the number of infected people in low and middle-income countries getting access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the recent five years.
Voicing the international community needs to do more in the fight, the UN official expressed concern about a cut in funding allocated for HIV/AIDS programmes by some countries, saying the deed would adversely impact those living with HIV/AIDS as well as efforts to halt the spread of the disease to communities.
Preventing and combating HIV/AIDS is costly, but it even costs us more if we do not act, said the UN official./.
