Anti-AIDS campaign in danger of collapse says UN Envoy

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Article Date: 06 Mar 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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A UN envoy, Stephen Lewis, says the anti-AIDS campaign carried out by UNAIDS is in danger of total collapse. He says the main reason is donor countries - they are not willing to put up the money. He said the 3x5 plan should be saved.

The 3x5 plan has the goal of providing 3 million HIV-infected people with anti-retroviral treatment by 2005. The Envoy says this is the best chance in 20 years to turn the tables on the AIDS pandemic.

Stephen Lewis is amazed at the lack of financial support for the plan (lack of donor countries).

In order to make the 3x5 work the WHO needs $200m over the next two years. He says this is not a lot of money and he cannot understand why countries are not willing to stump up the money.

Stephen Lewis said 'My reasoning is a vacuum. I've never understood it. It remains inexplicable to me to this day. I know only that we are forever counting the bodies and we cannot seem to rally the international community.'

Mr. Lewis thinks the program is on a knife-edge.

He added 'And I'm hoping in next few weeks that will change or, we won't make it, we just won't make it, and that will be a terrible blow to the U.N., and it will be a terrible blow to fighting the pandemic.'

At the moment there are 300,000 people in the program are having the anti-retroviral treatment.

So far Britain, Spain and Sweden are the only countries willing to donate 'modest' sums of money, according to Lewis.

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