Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 2 February 2005
248 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his plans to enhance the work of the international community with the programme to combat AIDS in Africa; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3150/05]
View answerRecent statistics published by UNAIDS indicated that in 2004 nearly 40 million people were living with the HIV/AIDS virus. Sub-Saharan Africa, by far the worst-affected region, is now home to over 26.6 million people living with HIV/AIDS. Approximately 3 million new infections occurred there in 2004 while the epidemic claimed the lives of an estimated 2.3 million Africans in the past year.
HIV/AIDS is a key priority for the Development Co-operation Ireland programme. Ireland was one of the first donors to develop a HIV/AIDS strategy and we have worked to ensure that the issue is high on the agenda of the EU and of the UN's funds and programmes. Since 2001, Ireland's financial allocations to the fight against AIDS have increased ten-fold with a budget allocation almost reaching €50 million in 2005.
These resources are directed at HIV/AIDS activities at the global, regional, national and community levels and are implemented through international and regional organisations and in our programme countries. The latter include six highly-affected countries in southern and eastern Africa.
During 2005, Ireland will continue to work with the international community in advocating for a sustained and resourced global response to HIV/AIDS, strengthened leadership at all levels; and improved co-ordination of resources and planning for HIV/AIDS prevention and control.
In particular, Ireland will continue to advocate for a strong response to HIV/AIDS through financial support and representation on the executive boards of UN agencies such as UNDP and UNICEF. In addition, Ireland will continue to provide funding to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS-UNAIDS. UNAIDS is the main advocate for global action on the epidemic. It brings together the efforts and resources of ten UN system organisations to help prevent new HIV infections, to provide care for those already infected and to mitigate the impact of the pandemic.
Ireland will continue its support to the global fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria and will be represented at all the board meetings in 2005. We will continue to use our membership of the board to contribute to strategic policy orientation and our work at country level also feeds into policy dialogue. At the country level, Development Co-operation Ireland will continue to work with the Clinton Foundation and other donors, such as Norway and Canada to support the Government of Mozambique in its efforts to implement a national HIV/AIDS strategy, including a plan to provide life saving drugs to infected poor people.
HIV/AIDS continues to be an enormous obstacle to reducing poverty and to attaining the millennium development goals. Through the Development Co-operation Ireland programme, the Government will do all in its power to combat the pandemic at the global, regional and national levels in developing countries.
