World Summit on Sustainable Development Department of Public Information - News and Media Services Division - New York
	Johannesburg, South Africa 26 August-4 September 2002	30 August 2002

PRESS CONFERENCE BY UNAIDS   If the international community failed to halt AIDS in the worst affected countries of the world, it could forget about sustainable development, Peter Piot, Executive Director of the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), said today at the World Summit. "The epidemic is turning into an emerging crisis of human resources. Quite simply, if you do not survive, you cannot develop," said Mr. Piot, as he briefed correspondents on the new report "HIV/AIDS -- human resources and sustainable development". He was joined by Mechai Viravaidya, Chairperson of Thailand's Population and Community Development Association. Sustainable development was threatened by AIDS because the disease triggered poverty and food crises, Mr. Piot continued. Before, the epidemic had mainly hit urban areas, but now it had spread to rural communities, undermining schooling and depleting stocks of human capital. To successfully combat AIDS, people must first and foremost believe they can be successful in turning the epidemic around, he said. That had been demonstrated in some of the poorest countries, such as Zambia, where there were now fewer people struck down by the disease than five years ago. Fighting AIDS needed a combination approach of prevention, treatment and good leadership in government, business, the community and education systems. "We know what works, we don't have to reinvent the wheel. All forces must be brought together," Mr. Piot said. No effort against the disease would be possible without the $10 billion that was currently needed to fight it, he said. Some 30 per cent of that amount had already been received, and there had been recent increases in contributions to AIDS programmes. Mr. Viravaidya said that the world would never make a dent in the AIDS epidemic unless political and financial commitments were made by governments. He stressed that all heads of government should chair national AIDS committees. In his country, everyone was involved in the fight, including the police, who attached condoms to parking tickets in a so-called "cops and rubbers" programme. The major consequences of AIDS would be economic, sparking a 10 to 20 per cent drop in gross domestic product (GDP) in some countries, Mr. Viravaidya said. It was fine to focus on treatment and prevention, but the poorest countries must be provided with an economic base for survival. Asked whether the Summit has taken AIDS seriously enough, Mr. Piot said he was disappointed the epidemic had not become a central focus in promoting sustainable development. The attention it previously received had been watered down, which reflected perception of AIDS in the world. As for why, development as an issue had competing priorities. Also, those negotiating international deals at the Summit had not internalized the importance of AIDS as a development issue. Responding to another question, Mr. Piot noted that the 30 per cent of the $10 million needed to combat AIDS was a sixfold increase over what had been spent four years ago, so funding had risen. Funding came from affected governments, bilateral donors, the World Bank and the new Global Fund. "It is not off the wall to think one could see an increase of 50 per cent to reach $10 billion three to four years from now," Mr. Piot said. Press Conferences Summit News