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New Report Critical of Global HIV Treatment Access: Zackie Achmat and Other Global AIDS Activist Leaders Release New Report on AIDS Treatment Scale Up
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Posted : Wed, 18 Jul 2007 18:42:44 GMT
Author : International Treatment Preparedness Coalition
Category : PressRelease
CAPE TOWN, South Africa and NEW YORK, July 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, on a global media eleconference, the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC) released its new report on AIDS treatment access.
The new Missing the Target report, the fourth in a series, provides a 17- country overview of AIDS treatmentsuccesses and setbacks. The report is available online at http://www.aidstreatmentaccess.org/.
Quotes from the media teleconference to release the report: Zackie Achmat, Treatment Action Campaign, South Africa
"The ITPC report shows that an enormous sea change has taken place in the numbers of people on antiretroviral treatment. Millions of lives have been saved and millions more lives can be saved. This is essentially first and foremost because of citizen and activist pressure, which can be and must be sustained, invigorated and strengthened.
The second thing the report shows is that governments can act but are not acting with sufficient clarity, planning, moral and political leadership. The third thing it shows is that international agencies can be galvanized. The report courageously welcomes the efforts of PEPFAR, UNAIDS, and others.
We have a major human resource crisis and insufficient response at the global or local level, and particularly by governments. Human rights abuses are continuing. The failure to scale up treatment effectively means we are also losing a huge opportunity to deal with prevention."
Matilda Moyo, a co-author of the Zimbabwe chapter
"Though treatment access has improved, political and economic challenges threaten to reverse the gains of treatment delivery in Zimbabwe. In some areas the health care system faces imminent collapse.
We would like to say to the global community, Zimbabwe is currently under targeted sanctions. Unfortunately those sanctions are hurting the ordinary person, so if the global community does not want to channel its assistance thru government it has an option to channel that assistance through civil society rather than punish ordinary people for the sins of their leadership."
Martha Kwataine, a co-author of the Malawi chapter
"Many people have to walk or have to travel long distances to access ARTs. People are missing treatment because they do not have money for transportation. We are calling on the government to decentralize the ART distribution so that people no longer have to walk long distances for care."
Richard Hasunira, a co-author of the Uganda chapter
"We are calling upon the government to strengthen the national health system by investing more in human resources and infrastructure. We need a renewed public information campaign to target issues such a stigma, which continues to be a problem."
Gregg Gonsalves, AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA) and report co-coordinator--
"This report shows that treatment is working. The bottom line with the report is that we are making progress in AIDS treatment, the best hope we have to reach the Alma- Ata Declaration of Health for All. Now we can't go backwards, we need to move forward so that all 10 million people who will need treatment by 2010 get access to it."
Chris Collins, report project coordinator
"At the current rate, by 2010, we will fall more than 1.5 million people short of the new G8 pledge to reach five million Africans with treatment, and a full five million people short of the G8 goal of global universal access by that date.
It is time for the governments of the world to mobilize a response to AIDS that matches their promises. It is time to learn the lessons of the early years of AIDS treatment scale up and accelerate and improve treatment delivery and use it as an opportunity to greatly expand access to HIV prevention, TB and other health services." It is time for the governments of the world to
CONTACT: Chris Collins, +1-845-701-0158, ChrisCSF@aol.com, Gregg Gonsalves, +27-78-456-3848, gregg.gonsalves@gmail.com, or Kay Marshall, +1-347-249-6375, kaymarshall@mac.com, all of the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition
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