MEDIA RELEASE
Released By:
Downer
I am pleased to announce further support from Australia to the Global Fund
to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria as the 7th International Congress on
AIDS in Asia and the Pacific gets underway in Kobe, Japan. This important
meeting provides key stakeholders in the region with the opportunity to further
efforts to tackle the disease by sharing ideas and experiences.
Australia is taking an active role, sending a delegation, sponsoring over
50 participants from developing countries and supporting skills building
workshops and meetings for people living with HIV/AIDS. Australia's Special
Representative on HIV/AIDS, Ms Annmaree O'Keeffe will chair a session on
'New Leadership - Pushing the Boundaries', recognising leadership as
a key component in an effective response to HIV/AIDS.
Australia will contribute a further $5 million to the Global Fund to Fight
AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This follows the $15 million announced earlier
this month as part of our $75 million commitment to the Global
Fund.
With more than 8.2 million people in the Asia-Pacific already living with
HIV/AIDS it is vital that the disease is checked. Yesterday at the Congress
UNAIDS Executive Director Dr Peter Piot released an important Report that
sounds a clear wake-up call to our region. Dr Piot's Report A Scaled Up
Response to AIDS in Asia Pacific states that AIDS in the Asia Pacific
should become a global priority like AIDS in Africa, and that in our own region
AIDS is now an exceptional crisis requiring an emergency response. I welcome Dr
Piot's Report and can confirm that Australia is responding robustly to this
challenge.
Australia is particularly alarmed by the spread of the epidemic among girls
and women. Globally young women now make up over 60% of 15-24 year olds living
with HIV/AIDS. This is generally the result of women's lower social and
economic status and lack of negotiating power. As Dr Piot points out, gender
inequality mixed with HIV is placing women in Asia and the Pacific in double
jeopardy - in Asia, 30% of girls are married before the age of 15, and 62%
before 18, often with much older husbands; in many Asian countries husbands
represent the primary source of infection for women. To respond to this issue,
Australia is working with partner countries in the Asia-Pacific on programs to
improve women's and girls' access to education, assisting prevention
and treatment services and redressing violence against women.
Australia is serious about reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS. It has committed
$600 million for international HIV/AIDS programs from 2000 - 2010 to help
achieve this goal.
Media inquiries:
Chris Kenny (Mr Downer's office) 0419 206 890
AusAID (Public Affairs) 0417 680 590