LET’S KEEP UP THE CAMPAIGN ON WORLD AIDS DAY

On World AIDS Day on December 1st, David Williams has welcomed the UK’s global leadership on the global fight against HIV and AIDS.

David Williams said, “I know that many people in Crewe and Nantwich are concerned about action on the global scourge of HIV and AIDS. They want the UK Government to maintain its global leadership on this issue and meet its commitments to the world’s poorest people. With 33 million people still living with HIV and AIDS worldwide, we must continue to act."

The most recent joint UNAIDS-World Health Organisation report showed that in 2007 over 33 million people live with HIV and AIDS worldwide. UNAIDS estimates that every day, over 6,800 people become infected with HIV, and over 5,700 people die from AIDS. That’s a death from AIDS every 15 seconds. In June 2008, the UK Government launched Achieving Universal Access: the UK’s strategy for halting and reversing the spread of HIV in the developing world. This sets out the UK’s strategy between 2008-2015, it will:
- Help bring down the cost of treatment to enable more people to access life saving drugs
- Increase funding for research and development of AIDS vaccines and microbicides
- Meet the needs of orphans and vulnerable children, including those affected by AIDS
- Prevent the transmission of HIV from mothers to their children
- Increase the availability of family planning, including male and female condoms
- Increase the coverage of services for injecting drug users – HIV infections amongst injecting drug users are driving the fastest growing epidemics in the world

The last UK strategy Taking Action the UK Government’s strategy for tackling HIV and AIDS in the developing world helped deliver real results:
- In most of sub-Saharan Africa, national HIV prevalence has either stabilised or is showing signs of decline.
- Since 2004, 20 times more people have access to life-saving treatment and the price of first line AIDS drugs has fallen consistently.

David Williams concluded, "I am proud that the UK Government remains so committed to tackling poverty at home and abroad."

Please click here to visit the World Aids Day 2008 website