In June 2011, 192 Member States of the United Nations agreed
to bold new targets and commitments that could make AIDS a thing of the past.
They agreed amongst other things to work
towards reducing sexual transmission of HIV by 50%; to eliminating new HIV
infections amongst children; to increasing the number of people on life saving
treatment to 15 million globally; and to increasing domestic funding for HIV
responses.
The leaders of the world pledged to achieve these goals by
2015, which would move us closer towards the vision of a world with Zero new
HIV infections, Zero AIDS-related discrimination, and Zero AIDS-related deaths.
But “Getting To Zero” in Papua New Guinea demands we have an
evidence-based response that solidly focuses on and involves key populations
most at risk, a response which is adequately resourced, and which is grounded
in human rights.
The countries which are
acting on this knowledge – the knowledge of what works – are reaping the
rewards. Tremendous progress has already
been made, proving that the epidemic can be reversed, and that HIV treatment
and care can be brought to those who most need it.
Infection rates have dropped in most countries in the Asia
Pacific region including PNG and increasing HIV prevention coverage is
resulting in safer sexual behaviours.
There are more people than ever before receiving treatment and this is
significant because of the recent evidence that shows the powerful effect of
HIV treatment on reducing transmission.
These life-saving gains must be consolidated, expanded and
sustained.
But critical challenges
remain.
There are still insufficient and inadequate HIV programmes
for key populations most at risk of HIV including men who have sex with men,
people who buy and sell sex, transgendered individuals, young people at higher
risk, migrant workers, and people
affected by natural and man-made emergencies.
Sixty percent of people eligible for antiretroviral treatment
in the region still do not receive it and PNG continues to have
frequent stock outs of crucial life-saving drugs because of poor management and
systems which aren’t working.
Coverage of services to prevent new infections amongst
children have significantly improved in PNG, but still need to be expanded,
supported and maintained.
Stigma and discrimination are widespread and present a
forbidding barrier to many people receiving prevention related information and
resources, care, treatment and support.
We still have laws and policies on the books in PNG and in
most countries in the region which hamper the AIDS response and compromise the
human rights of key affected communities despite the lofty promises of PNG’s
constitution.
And our leaders remain on the margins of the national
response.
Papua New Guinea was one of
the only countries in the Asia Pacific region which did not even send a
delegation to the High Level Meeting on HIV at the United Nations General
Assembly earlier this year.
And all of this is happening in the context of a global
economic crisis where donor funding for AIDS is declining and national funding
and commitment remains ambivalent.
As we commemorate World AIDS Day 2011 on December 1, we must
recognise that we are at a crossroads in the national and global AIDS response.
Success will require committed political leadership, strong
national ownership, and partnerships that include people living with HIV and
the other most affected populations.
Success will require increased and sustained resources for
HIV focused on the people and which reach the people most at risk including men
who have sex with men, transgendered individuals, and people who buy and sell
sex.
And this can’t be done by hiding
behind our idealised concepts of family, faith, community and morality – it can
ONLY be done within the context of the reality of human behavior by taking the
hard decisions to reform laws that impede the HIV response and which deny some
individuals their right to access health services, treatment, and crucial
prevention information and services.
Success means expanding access to affordable drugs,
diagnostics, and prevention commodities such as male and female condoms because
the many years of the global AIDS response have clearly shown that where these
are emphasised in open, honest and dignified ways, the epidemic is slowed.
Success means making better links with and strengthening the
rest of the health system to ensure drugs reach people, that treatment once
begun is continued without interruption, and to be sure that we do a better job
of linking TB and other components of the health system with the HIV response.
And most importantly, success means an end to the laws,
policies and practices that fuel stigma and discrimination, violate rights, and
hinder effective AIDS responses.
So if we are going to “Get to Zero”, we need renewed
activism, we need more meaningful engagement with young people, we need new and
more strategic partnerships beyond the traditional responders, we need to
ensure respect of everyone’s rights through reform of the legal environment,
and we need people from all walks of life to get engaged in the national
response to HIV by educating themselves and those around them and learning
their own HIV status so that those in need can access life saving treatment and
care and reduce the possibility of transmitting the virus to others.
On World AIDS Day 2011, I call on everyone in PNG to courageously face up to the challenges presented by HIV and to
embrace wholeheartedly the opportunities we all have to break the trajectory of
the epidemic.
In pursuit of social
justice and human dignity, let us unite our efforts, let us make the difficult
decisions, and let us be guided by the evidence we have to ensure success in
Getting to Zero new HIV infections, Zero HIV-related Discrimination, and Zero
AIDS-related Deaths in PNG.
Additional information and World AIDS Day resources can be
found at
or by contacting
UNAIDS Papua New Guinea on 3217999
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