PHA-Exchange> PRESS RELEASE: "Spread the battle against HIV/ AIDS outside the health arena" says the Asian People's Charter on HIV/ AIDS -- (People's Health Movement)

Wed May 19 01:59:29 PDT 2004

For media enquiries:   During WHA: Geneva +41 78 876 5437 or +33 660 839 448 :

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

People's Health Movement

"Spread the battle against HIV/ AIDS outside the health arena" says the Asian People's Charter on HIV/ AIDS.

Geneva, 18th May 2004: "Spread the battle against HIV/AIDS outside the health arena. HIV/ AIDS is also about politics, trade and profits" says the Asian People's Charter on HIV/ AIDS, an initiative of the People's Health Movement (PHM).

PHM is an international coalition of grass roots movements and health professionals that has a presence in nearly 100 countries.  

"Hit the disease and the social and political context that amplifies the epidemic fast, hard and everywhere" said Eva Ombaka, from Tanzania and a member of PHM. She is attending the 57th World Health Assembly being held at Geneva, from 17th to 22nd May 2004. HIV/ AIDS is a key issue that the World health Assembly is addressing this year.

PHM is using the WHA to present and discuss the draft version of the Asian People's Charter on HIV/ AIDS.  The charter is being considered as a 'much needed tool' to do a 'reality check' on the HIV/ AIDS epidemic that is threatening global stability.

"The charter is an amplifier of people's voices" said Zafrullah Choudhury from Bangladesh and a member of PHM. "We are calling for urgent action by the UN systems, policy makers and politicians to address the actual realities of the HIV/ AIDS crisis" he said.

Look at the realities:

  1.. In Africa, a whole generation is disappearing in front of our eyes.  Poverty and profits over people's health have turned HIV/ AIDS into a killing machine.
  2.. The epidemic is spreading faster in pockets of Central Asia because of the ongoing armed conflicts and military expenditure, drug running and human trafficking.
  3.. Children orphaned because of HIV/ AIDS is taking its toll on the next generation. Time is running out and we need to act now.
  4.. Politicians and policy makers in Latin America and Asia have yet to learn lessons from the tragedy that has unfolded in Africa. 
"We know the reasons for these deaths. We know their names and addresses. The international community will never win the battle against HIV/ AIDS unless they address its political, cultural, economic and social dimensions" said Mwajuma S. Masaiganah from Tanzania. She was referring to the growing clout of Multi National Drug companies who have become the major stumbling block in ensuring life for the millions of people infected and affected with HIV / AIDS. 

In 2004, there are over 40 million people worldwide infected with HIV. 75 % of them are from Africa. Life expectancy in Sub Saharan Africa dropped by 15 years due to HIV/ AIDS. In 16 worst affected countries in Africa, life expectancy dropped by 50 %. 

It is in this complex political and social reality, PHM is using the Charter as a rallying point to call the global attention and give a people's perspective to HIV/ AIDS crises. 

The draft charter is being discussed and debated at various levels- local village meetings to international forums and the World Health Assembly. Various constituencies are extending their solidarity- from positive people's network, village health workers to medical professionals and campaigners working on access to health care and medicines and women's rights. 

The charter is also supported by various international agencies like ActionAid International, Churches Action for Health, Italian Raoul Follereau Association (AIFO),  Italy, WEMOS, MEDACT, Equinet (South Africa), Global Equity Gauge Alliance and Health Action International. National Front in Defense of People's Health, Ecuador is one of the recent bodies that extended their solidarity for this charter. 

The final version of the charter will be released at the International AIDS conference scheduled to be held in Bangkok in July 2004.  

The Charter, while demanding to place HIV/ AIDS in the context of primary health care, calls for radical reforms within the approach of governments, UN institutions like WHO and UNAIDS.  "The acid test of WHO's 3 X 5 initiative is in its ability to strengthen primary health care systems and addressing gender issues including violence against women" said Thelma Narayan from India. 

The charter also calls for people-based actions like legal action to challenge the exorbitant drug prices that are a direct violation of right to life and also to challenge the proposed changes in patent laws that will make drug prices further unaffordable.

"The lives that have been lost in Africa should not go as waste. Asia, Latin America and rest of the world should learn from these costly lessons" said Patricia Nickson from Democratic Republic of Congo and a public health specialist associated with PHM. 

On behalf of the People's Health Movement

Dr. Ravi Narayan                                             Maria Hamlin Zuniga

Co-ordinator, PHM secretariat                         PHM - Latin America                           

For media enquiries, during WHA: Geneva: +41 78 876 5437 - Unnikrishnan  

(For PHM media enquiries: India +91 98450 91319 )

Global Secretariat: CHC, # 367, Jakkasandra 1st Main, 1st Block, Koramangala,

Bangalore - 560 034 India.     Tel.: 91-80-5128 0009 / Telefax: 91-80-552 53 72

E-mail: secretariat at phmovement.org Website: http://www.phmovement.org

Networks
      Asian Community Health Action Network (ACHAN); Consumers International-Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (CIROAP); Dag Hammarskjold Foundation (DHF); Gonoshasthaya Kendra, (GK);  Health Action International (HAI) - Asia-Pacific - HAIAP; International People's Health Council (IPHC); Third World Network (TWN); Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR)

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://phm.phmovement.org/pipermail/phm-exchange-phmovement.org/attachments/20040519/17eb68a5/attachment-0001.html>