Gay Mitchell
Ceist:99 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the plans he has to combat the world crisis in HIV-AIDS having regard to our participation at the United Nations Special Session on HIV/AIDS. [14376/01]
Written Answers. - AIDS Crisis.
Ruairí Quinn
Ceist:100 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his priorities for the forthcoming special meeting of the United Nations to discuss the global fight against AIDS-HIV; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17796/01]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 99 and 100 together, as both relate to the forthcoming United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS.
The HIV-AIDS epidemic is beyond doubt one of the greatest challenges to global development and poverty reduction. At the end of last year, over 36 million people were believed to have been infected with HIV-AIDS. It is estimated that over 22 million people have died of the disease to date. The majority of those infected with HIV virus – 95% of the global total – live in the developing world in sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and the developing countries of Asia. In these situations the epidemic is leading to a reversal of life expectancy and a huge increase in demand for medical and welfare services.
Sub-Saharan Africa continues to bear the brunt of HIV and AIDS – we know that almost 25 million Africans are living with this disease. In Africa, this disease is responsible for the deaths of seven out of ten young adults. It is expected that the number of people who become infected in this age group will continue to increase. This has hugely important economic and social implications for these countries as it is this population sub-group who contribute to the economic development of society. It is this group also who are responsible for the upbringing and welfare of young families. In these situations HIV serves to further contribute to high levels of poverty.
HIV-AIDS is a major public health and development challenge in all countries in Africa where the Government is providing financial support for development programmes, that is, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
In January 2000, in response to this enormous problem, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, launched a HIV-AIDS strategy for the Ireland Aid Programme, the purpose of which was to ensure that Ireland Aid is fully responsive to the additional burden HIV-AIDS presents to development in countries benefiting from Government support. The allocation of additional resources for official development assistance has meant that the Government has increasingly contributed to AIDS control programmes in developing countries.
Following the adoption of a resolution in September 2000 by the UN General Assembly, a special session of the General Assembly – UNGASS – on HIV-AIDS will be held from 25 to 27 June 2001. The objective of this special session is to provide an opportunity to review the global HIV-AIDS epidemic and to intensify international efforts to prevent and contain this disease. The meeting will issue a declaration of commitment to intensify efforts to control the global HIV-AIDS pandemic.
To signify our commitment to the international fight against HIV-AIDS, the Government will be strongly represented at this special session of the General Assembly. The Irish delegation will be led by the Taoiseach and the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, and will include nominees from civil society organisations and other representative groups. The Taoiseach will deliver our national statement to the General Assembly and the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, will participate in one of the parallel round table discussions, which will examine HIV-AIDS related issues in detail.
My Department has been co-ordinating the preparations for this special session. It has also been actively involved in the negotiations of the declaration which will be adopted at this meeting. Preparations for the UNGASS have involved discussions with Departments, civil society organisations, Ireland Aid field staff and representatives of the pharmaceutical industry in Ireland. The output of these discussions will inform the issues which will be raised by the Taoiseach and the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, in the course of their formal presentations at the special session.
The fact that the Taoiseach and the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, are both attending this meeting, and that our delegation is strongly inclusive of representative groups, signals the extent of the commitment of the Government to addressing the global problem of HIV-AIDS.
In the course of the special session, the Government will point to the effects of the epi demic at community level and the links between the spread of HIV-AIDS and global poverty and under-development. The need for the international community to mount an intensive and urgent response will be emphasised. A strong focus will be placed on the importance of leadership – at international, national and local levels – in the fight against AIDS. Some issues relating to the prevention and treatment of HIV-AIDS will be highlighted.
A key theme at the UNGASS will be the need for additional resources to help the most affected countries. It is our belief that the amount of resources committed to date by the international community for the prevention and control of HIV-AIDS has been grossly inadequate. Our input to this meeting will include a call for this situation to be redressed and point to the responsibilities of the public and private sectors to allocate additional resources to the control of this epidemic.