MR. PRESIDENT,

ON BEHALF OF MY GOVERNMENT, I WOULD LIKE TO BEGIN BY CONGRATULATING YOU ON YOUR ELECTION TO THE PRESIDENCY OF THIS SPECIAL SESSION DEDICATED TO THE PROBLEMS OF HIV I AIDS.

THE INITIATIVE TAKEN TO HOLD THIS EVENT RESPONDS TO THE INTERNATI NAL COMMUNITY'S GROWING CONCERN AS IT FACES THE DANGER T I AT A CONFLAGRATION OF HIV I AIDS POSES TO THE STABILITY ND DEVELOPMENT OF OUR SOCIETIES AND TO THE VERY FUTURE OF UMANITY.

THE IMPACT OF THIS DISEASE HAS BEEN CATASTROPHIC, ABOVE ALL IN AFRICA, CONTINENT THAT HAS RECORDED THE GREATEST RATE OF CASES, RESULTING IN A REDUCTION IN THE ACTIVE POPULATION, THE BREAK P OF FAMILIES AND AN INCREASE IN POVERTY.

AFRICAN COUNTRIES, OWING TO THE WEAKNESS OF THEIR ECONOMIES, AND AS A CONSEQUENCE, THEIR HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS ARE NOT IN A POSITION TO FACE ALONE THE CHALLENGES PRESENTED BY THE DISEASE. THE UNITED NATIONS AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY MUST CONTINUE TO DEDICATE SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE AFRICAN CONTINENT AND IN PARTICULAR TO AREAS OF PREVENTION AND TREATMENT.

AT THE SAME TIME, THERE IS A NECESSITY TO IMPLEMENT ADEQUATE NATIONAL POLICIES WHERE CIVIL SOCIETY, NGOs, THE CHURCH, AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR, AS SOCIAL PARTNERS WITH THE STATE, CAN PLAY ACTIVE ROLES.
 

MR. PRESIDENT, MR. SECRETARY?GENERAL, EXCELLENCIES,

IN ANGOLA, THE FIGHT AGAINST AIDS CONSTITUTES ONE OF OUR PRINCIPAL PRIORITIES. IT IS ESTIMATED THAT THERE ARE CURRENTLY 160 THOUSAND PERSONS INFECTED, AND THAT TO DATE, APPROXIMATELY 31 THOUSAND HAVE DIED FROM THE DISEASE. IT IS FORECAST THAT NEARLY ONE MILLION PEOPLE MAY BE INFECTED OVER THE NEXT 9 YEARS, OF WHOM 500 THOUSAND WILL DIE IF THE CURRENT TREND IS NOT REVERSED.

THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL STRATEGIC PLAN IS AN INSTRUMENT THAT AIMS AT PREVENTING THE TRANSMISSION OF HIV / AIDS, ABOVE ALL IN THE MOST VULNERABLE GROUPS, AND IN REDUCING THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF THE DISEASE IN THE HEART OF FAMILIES, COMMUNITIES, AND THE COUNTRY. FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN, THE GOVERNMENT HAS ALLOCATED 33 MILLION DOLLARS.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC IS A SPONSOR OF THIS STRATEGIC
PLAN AND HE IS MOBILIZING ALL SECTORS OF SOCIETY. ,

THE RESULTS OF THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE FIGHT AGAINST AIDS IN ANGOLA COULD BE MORE EFFECTIVE IF THERE WERE NOT A CONTINUATION OF THE TERRORIST ACTS BEING CARRIED OUT BY ARMED GROUPS LED BY JONAS SAVIMBI. THOSE ACTS HAVE DESTROYED HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE, AFFECTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF CAMPAIGNS FOR PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF THE DISEASE.

JONAS SAVIMBI CONTINUES TO REJECT RESOLUTIONS OF THE U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL AND PERSISTS IN A DEBASED LOGIC OF WAR AS A MEANS OF SEIZING POLITICAL POWER. HE CONTINES TO WAGE WAR DESPITE CEASELESS APPEALS BY THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO RETURN TO THE LUSAKA PROTOCOL, THE ONLY POLITICAL AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR ACHIEVING LASTING PEACE AND NATIONAL RECONCILIATION. SAVIMBI HAS THE ONUS OF RESPONSIBILITY TO DECLARE WITHOUT DELAY A UNILATERAL CEASEFIRE, DISARM, AND COOPERATE WITH THE UNITED NATIONS IN ORDER TO RESTART THE PROCESSES OF THE LUSAKA PROTOCOL AND CARRY OUT STRICTLY ITS REMAINING UNFULFILLED PROVISIONS.

THE POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL STABILIZATION THAT WOULD TAKE PLACE WITH THE RETURN OF REFUGEES AND THE RESETTLING OF DISPLACED POPULATIONS, WILL PERMIT THE GOVERNMENT TO CARRY OUT WITH GREATER EFFECTIVENESS THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE FIGHT AGAINST HIV I AIDS AS WELL AS OTHER DISEASES SUCH AS MALARIA AND TUBERCULOSIS.
 

MR. PRESIDENT, EXCELLENCIES,

IT IS ANGOLA'S VIEW THAT THE FIGHT AGAINST HIV / AIDS WILL HAVE TO BE WON THROUGH CONCERTED EFFORTS BY THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY. FOR THIS REASON, IT WELCOMES WITH SATISFACTION THE INITIATIVE CREATING THE GLOBAL FUND FOR THE FIGHT AGAINST HIV I AIDS ANNOUNCED BY THE SECRETARY?GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS AT THE RECENT WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY, AND WE APPEAL TO THE INTERNATIONAL .COMMUNITY TO CONTRIBUTE TO THAT FUND. AT THE SAME TIME, WE REITERATE OUR SUPPORT FOR THE RESULTS OF THE ABUJA SUMMIT.

WE ARE CONVINCED THAT THIS SPECIAL SESSION WILL HELP THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY FIND THE MOST EFFECTIVE PATHS TO HALT THE PROPAGATION OF THE AIDS SCOURGE.
 

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.