PHA-Exchange> UN AND ASSOCIATED HEALTH OFFICIALS WELCOME G-8 SUMMIT FOCUS ON DISEASE

[Claudio]

From: "Vern Weitzel" <vern at coombs.anu.edu.au>
UN AND ASSOCIATED HEALTH OFFICIALS WELCOME G-8 SUMMIT FOCUS ON DISEASE
New York, Jul  4 2006  8:00PM
The Group of Eight, through its focus on global health at this year's summit 
in St. Petersburg,
Russia, is helping to ensure that existing and emerging disease threats are 
tackled at the very
highest level, United Nations and other international health officials said 
today.

In a joint statement released in advance of the G8 summit, the leaders of 
the World Health
Organization (WHO), the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the Global 
Fund to Fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and 
Immunization (GAVI) welcomed the
focus on infectious diseases and urged the leaders of Canada, France, 
Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia,
the United Kingdom and the United States "to continue their commitments to 
improving the health and
lives of people in the world's poorest countries."

WHO acting Director-General Dr. Anders Nordström, who will be at the G8 
summit, said the powerful
Group's action on health issues can make a tangible difference. "Attention 
by the world's wealthiest
nations will directly benefit people living in all countries."

The G8 focus on health in past years led directly to strengthening UNAIDS 
and to the creation of the
Global Fund, which has leveraged pledges of $9 billion to prevent, diagnose 
and treat these diseases.

"The support demonstrated by G8 leaders for the AIDS response has been, and 
continues to be crucial
to getting ahead of the epidemic," said UNAIDS Executive Director Dr. Peter 
Piot. "We must build on
the commitments made last year to make universal access to HIV treatment, 
prevention and care a
reality."

The success of all health programmes depends on urgently addressing the 
health workforce crisis, the
joint statement said. "The world is now short of 4 million health workers, 
with the lack of doctors,
nurses and laboratory experts most acute in 57 of the world's poorest 
countries," the officials
pointed out.

The G8 summit will be held from 15 to 1