Letter to the Chairman of the Committee
from Mr Gareth Thomas MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State,
Department for International Development
At the International Development Committee Hearing
on HIV and AIDS on 16 November you asked whether the Government
was seeking to encourage a new EU declaration on HIV and AIDS,
for World AIDS Day.
On World AIDS Day 2005, under the leadership
of the UK Presidency, the EU made a bold Statement on HIV Prevention
for an AIDS-Free Generation. This Statement has had a powerful
effect. For example it was key to achieving a common EU position
on HIV and AIDS in advance of the United Nations General Assembly
High Level Meeting on AIDS in May 2006. It has also been used
by EU Member States to help re-invigorate a national focus on
HIV prevention, for example in Uganda.
As I said at the hearing I don't believe we
need a new EU Declaration on HIV prevention. Since attending the
hearing I understand the Finnish Presidency has drafted a statement
that will be released on World AIDS Day next month. This is a
general statement which will provide an update on the global AIDS
situation and will highlight progress made during 2006. UK officials,
through formal and informal discussions, have encouraged the Finnish
Presidency to focus on areas that require continued advocacy and
strengthened support of the EU. As a result of UK engagement we
expect the Finnish Statement to highlight the urgent need to address
the shortage of sexual and reproductive health supplies such as
male and female condoms. We have also suggested that the Finns
focus attention on the need to address the stigma and discrimination
faced by people vulnerable to and living with AIDS.
We welcome the effort of the Finnish Presidency
to renew the EU's commitment to the AIDS response, and appreciate
that it builds on the UK Presidency-sponsored Statement on HIV
prevention last year. However, the big challenge now is to translate
these crucial commitments into action in the most affected countries.
At the hearing I also agreed to provide information
on our representations to President Museveni and to send you some
statistics to demonstrate the success of specific programmes.
This will follow shortly.
November 2006
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