UK churches push Tony Blair on AIDS/HIV commitments
-04/12/05
Two national churches an
UK churches push Tony Blair on AIDS/HIV commitments
-04/12/05
Two national churches and eight Christian development agencies have joined other HIV/AIDS groups as part of the Stop AIDS Campaign to press Prime Minister Tony Blair and the UK government to match verbal commitments tackle HIV and AIDS with concrete action.
An old style double-decker bus with thousands of eyes, a ‘Number 10’ door, a ëprime ministerí figure in a brightly-coloured t-shirt and a real premiership soccer star – England goalkeeper David James – made the point visually on the eve of World AIDS Day.
The Stop AIDS Campaign is a joint initiative of more than 70 of the UKís leading development and HIV/AIDS groups, including Christian Aid, CARE International, the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development, the Catholic Institute for International Relations, Mildmay International, the Salvation Army, Tearfund, the United Reformed Church, USPG (the Anglican mission agency) and World Vision.
High-profile backers include ex-Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the anti-apartheid activist and Nobel Prize winner.
ìWe are watching the government to ensure they stand by their promise of HIV treatment for all by 2010,î said Kirsty McNeill, STOP AIDSís campaign manager.
ëShe went on: ìThe promise was made by G8 leaders and the UN this year. If kept millions of lives would be saved. Meeting the target will not be easy – if every man, woman and child who needs treatment is to get it by 2010, world leaders will have to make significant policy changes.î
More than 40 million people are living with HIV worldwide. Only one in ten receives life-saving treatment. Over three million AIDS deaths were recorded in 2005, half a million of which were children. Almost five million people were infected in 2005.
HIV treatment for all is desperately needed in order to turn the pandemic around. The Stop AIDS Campaignís message to policy-makers is that the 2010 treatment target cannot be met without generating increased resources, making drugs affordable and accessible, and strengthening health systems.
Dr Rachel Baggaley, head of Christian Aidís HIV Unit, said: ìThere is a desperate need for investment in health infrastructure in poor countries. It is a disgrace, that in the face of the ever-increasing HIV epidemic, certain international policies restrict investment in these areas.î
She added that ìcomprehensive long-term investment in health care is crucial if we are to reach the 2010 target.î
[Also on Ekklesia: Faith groups prepare for World AIDS Day; UN and churches push for more AIDS drugs; World leaders failing global poor, says Christian Aid; Gordon Brown’s Africa debt action inspired by church; G8 urged to put money where their mouth is]
UK churches push Tony Blair on AIDS/HIV commitments
-04/12/05
Two national churches and eight Christian development agencies have joined other HIV/AIDS groups as part of the Stop AIDS Campaign to press Prime Minister Tony Blair and the UK government to match verbal commitments tackle HIV and AIDS with concrete action.
An old style double-decker bus with thousands of eyes, a ‘Number 10′ door, a ëprime minister’ figure in a brightly-coloured t-shirt and a real premiership soccer star – England goalkeeper David James – made the point visually on the eve of World AIDS Day.
The Stop AIDS Campaign is a joint initiative of more than 70 of the UK’s leading development and HIV/AIDS groups, including Christian Aid, CARE International, the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development, the Catholic Institute for International Relations, Mildmay International, the Salvation Army, Tearfund, the United Reformed Church, USPG (the Anglican mission agency) and World Vision.
High-profile backers include ex-Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the anti-apartheid activist and Nobel Prize winner.
‘We are watching the government to ensure they stand by their promise of HIV treatment for all by 2010,’ said Kirsty McNeill, STOP AIDS’s campaign manager.
ëShe went on: ‘The promise was made by G8 leaders and the UN this year. If kept millions of lives would be saved. Meeting the target will not be easy – if every man, woman and child who needs treatment is to get it by 2010, world leaders will have to make significant policy changes.’
More than 40 million people are living with HIV worldwide. Only one in ten receives life-saving treatment. Over three million AIDS deaths were recorded in 2005, half a million of which were children. Almost five million people were infected in 2005.
HIV treatment for all is desperately needed in order to turn the pandemic around. The Stop AIDS Campaign’s message to policy-makers is that the 2010 treatment target cannot be met without generating increased resources, making drugs affordable and accessible, and strengthening health systems.
Dr Rachel Baggaley, head of Christian Aid’s HIV Unit, said: ‘There is a desperate need for investment in health infrastructure in poor countries. It is a disgrace, that in the face of the ever-increasing HIV epidemic, certain international policies restrict investment in these areas.’
She added that ‘comprehensive long-term investment in health care is crucial if we are to reach the 2010 target.’
[Also on Ekklesia: Faith groups prepare for World AIDS Day; UN and churches push for more AIDS drugs; World leaders failing global poor, says Christian Aid; Gordon Brown’s Africa debt action inspired by church; G8 urged to put money where their mouth is]