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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 17 Dec 2002

Vol. 559 No. 5

Written Answers. - World AIDS Day.

Billy Timmins

Question:

64 Mr. Timmins asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the priorities which were set by his Department to mark World AIDS Day and the issue of AIDS in developing countries in particular. [26491/02]

I refer the Deputy to the response that the Minister of State, Deputy Kitt, delivered to a recent question on the issue of HIV-AIDS by Deputy Broughan on 13 November 2002. In the past decade, the AIDS crisis has emerged as perhaps the greatest development challenge. A UNAIDS report published recently detailed the facts about the global AIDS crisis. It stated that 42 million people are currently affected by HIV-AIDS and 22 million have died so far. The report confirmed that the worst-hit region is southern Africa, where the disease is magnifying the effects of famine and threatening the lives of 15 million.

In the past three years, Ireland Aid has increased by tenfold the volume of funds committed to tackling the HIV-AIDS crisis. In 2002, approximately €45 million will have been spent on HIV-AIDS programmes by Ireland Aid. In January 2000, Ireland Aid published a strategy on HIV-AIDS which set out the framework for our HIV-AIDS programme. We were one of the first donors to have published a strategy of this kind. The fight against HIV-AIDS has now been fully integrated into our development programme activities. This strategy was supplemented by the launch by the Minister of State in October this year of a further publication on HIV-AIDS entitled "Experiences and Lessons of Best Practice in Addressing HIV-AIDS".

In June 2001, the Taoiseach headed Ireland's delegation to the UN General Assembly special session on HIV-AIDS. He was the only European Head of Government to attend the special session. In his address, he announced that Ireland Aid would spend an additional $30 million annually on HIV-AIDS programmes in developing countries. This special session adopted the Declaration of Commitments on HIV-AIDS, which governs the international response to the HIV-AIDS crisis. It serves as an internationally agreed framework which will hold political leaders accountable for their actions in attempting to curb the spread of this global epidemic.

On World AIDS Day this year, 1 December at an event hosted by Deputy Kitt in the Department of Foreign Affairs and attended by a wide range of NGOs and representatives of the development community, the Taoiseach launched a booklet which reported on Ireland Aid's response to the crisis. I have arranged to have a copy of the booklet forwarded to the Deputy for his information. It details the activities which Ireland supports at the global, regional and country levels. The event to launch it was preceded by a media campaign which highlighted the challenge posed by the crisis and Ireland Aid's response to it.
The main aim of our HIV-AIDS activities is to help prevent the spread of HIV-AIDS and to reduce its economic and social impact in developing countries. To achieve this, three specific objectives have been outlined: strengthening the capacity of Ireland Aid as an organisation to respond effectively to the HIV-AIDS challenge; mainstreaming HIV-AIDS into our development programmes; supporting specific programmes that have been shown to be effective in terms of their impact on the progress of the pandemic.
Ireland's approach is to fight AIDS on a broad front and to support organisations which have a good track record in prevention and care. In 2002, we contributed to major international initiatives such as the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, and the International Partnership for Microbicides. We are also supporting HIV-AIDS programmes which are being implemented through the work of a number of UN agencies, including UNAIDS, UNICEF, UNDP and the WHO. Specific HIV-AIDS strategies have been developed in Ireland Aid's six programme countries in sub-Saharan Africa. We also support the new HIV-AIDS partnership scheme, designed to channel additional financial resources to Irish NGOs in support of the HIV-AIDS programmes they are carrying out in developing countries. This scheme will have a budget of €5 million in 2003.
In his address to the World AIDS Day event, the Taoiseach confirmed that the special HIV-AIDS fund which has been established to combat the disease was not a once-off measure, but would be replenished on an annual basis.
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