Andrea Downer, Freelance Writer
THE FAILURE of developing countries such as Jamaica to significantly reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS particularly among women and young people under the age of 25 could severely affect their ability to meet several Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
United Nations representatives who addressed world leaders and their representatives at a United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS, (UNGASS), in New York last week, issued the dire warning as they led talks aimed at renewing the global commitment to the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS.
SERIOUS IMPLICATIONS
According to the U.N., unless world leaders take decisive steps to reverse the global epidemic, the world will fail to meet UNGASS targets set for review in 2010, as well as the MDGs to halt and reverse the spread of AIDS by 2015. "Without major progress in tackling AIDS, global efforts to achieve the MDGs of reducing poverty, hunger and childhood mortality will similarly fall short of agreed targets. Countries whose development efforts are already flagging because of AIDS will continue to weaken, potentially threatening social stability and national security," Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary General, told delegates at the high-level meeting which began last Tuesday and ended on Friday.
Ten representatives from Jamaica were among world leaders and civil society representatives from more than 100 U.N. member-states that met to evaluate the progress made in achieving the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS (DoC) and recommit to fight the spread of the disease. The DoC, which was put into effect five years ago at a UNGASS meeting, established time-bound targets to be achieved by 2005 and 2010.
A Panos-commissioned review a few weeks ago, found that while Jamaica has made significant progress in the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS, the country's efforts have flagged in a number of areas.
However, civil society and persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAS), feel that they had little input in the new political declaration which was developed at the meeting. They also expressed little faith that the new goals would adequately address the plight of PLWHAs and persons at risk of becoming infected with HIV, as crucial issues such as treatment and prevention and protection of the interest of vulnerable groups had been given little priority.
HIGH INFECTION RATE
The plight of women and factors that make them more vulnerable to HIV infection than their male counterparts were at the forefront of the high-level talks. World leaders at the meeting also expressed grave concern at the high rate of HIV/AIDS infection among children and young people under the age of 25 and pledged to secure up to US$23 billion by 2010 to support rapidly scaled AIDS responses in developing countries, which should be supplemented by additional resources from international donor countries and national budgets.
This article is part of a five-country series on the Caribbean's response to UNGASS on HIV/AIDS Declaration of Commitment. This is a collaborative effort between The Gleaner and Panos Caribbean.
