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| | Message of the Director-General of UNESCO on the occasion of World AIDS Day (1 December 2003)
26-11-2003 - Despite tremendous efforts, the rate of HIV/AIDS infection continues to grow and the impact of the pandemic remains alarming. |
It is estimated that some 6000 people aged between 15 and 45 are infected on a daily basis. In Africa, the epidemic gives little sign of relief, in Asia it is spreading, and in other regions of the world there is growing disquiet about the trends being observed. While policy commitment in affected countries is high or growing and the international community has responded with promises of funds and action, the level of preventive measures and care campaigns remains far from adequate.
Sadly, stigma and discrimination remain central features in contemporary attitudes to HIV/AIDS. The stigma emanates from fear - the fear of those who are infected, as well as of those who are affected, by the disease. It is a fear of the social stigma that is attached to being identified as HIV-positive, or to those who are the orphans of, or otherwise related to, the infected. It is also a fear of the grave economic consequences for those who are known to be infected, generally the loss of employment. The discrimination persists because of widespread ignorance about the disease and tolerance, in many societies, of HIV/AIDS-related discrimination.
There are some positive reasons to believe that there may be a more rapid decline in the spread of the disease on the horizon. Access to generic drugs should soon be facilitated thanks to the commitments made by some countries. There is also the WHO-led new ‘3 x 5’ initiative, which should provide treatment to 3 million HIV patients by 2005. However, these measures alone will not suffice to alleviate the suffering of the majority of those touched by the pandemic. Also essential are the care, respect and inclusion of those who are infected and affected, as well as the general protection of their human rights. All these can be improved by the introduction of improved workplace policies, similar to those advocated by ILO; by programmes that target orphans and young people in general, such as those advocated by UNFPA and UNICEF; by ensuring food security in the manner advocated by WFP; and by widespread preventive education programmes that target the adults of tomorrow, such as those promoted by UNESCO. During the latter part of 2003 and the first half of 2004, UNESCO will use its role as Chair of the UNAIDS Committee of Cosponsoring Organizations to further encourage and strengthen the growing synergy within the United Nations system-wide collaborative effort to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic. It will also continue its efforts to coordinate and reinforce the impact of inter-agency work by convening a broad partnership of development institutions around the issue of HIV/AIDS and education.
The stark reality we face today is that all development goals, including those set for the Education for All programme, are threatened by HIV/AIDS. Even partial achievement of those goals will be hollow if the future of whole societies is dimmed by the continued threat of HIV/AIDS and all its consequences. Therefore, parallel to the advances being made on the medical front in respect to access to treatment, there must be a continued effort of prevention because there is no doubt that prevention is the chief weapon against the spread of HIV/AIDS. This is why UNESCO places such emphasis on accelerated and culturally-appropriate preventive education programmes that target in-school and out-of school young people. This preventive education works through education curricula to reduce the spread of the epidemic, while counselling appropriate action to protect the core functions of the education system from the impacts of the epidemic. Beyond targeting young people, the preventive education programme encourages new research and information at grassroots levels, and it endeavours to arm journalists with the right information in order to ensure that they diffuse the correct message to the public when reporting on all aspects of the illness.
The HIV/AIDS emergency has now been with us for some twenty years and there is no doubt that if there has been no ebb in the rate of infection, it is in part because the preventive measures taken thus far have been too few and too slow. A crucial element to reducing the spread of the disease and its dramatic socio-economic consequences is an acceptance by us all that it is not a problem that is limited to those who are infected and affected. It is a global problem that requires a global response. If we are to ensure that in another twenty years we have made substantial progress in combating this pandemic, then we must all play our part. Progress towards the various development goals that we have set ourselves on the national and international levels depends on this. Our humanity is being challenged by the most devastating epidemic in recorded history. History will judge us on our response to it.
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