Mr. President Excellencies Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me a great pleasure to be here among this distinguished gathering in a historic event as HIV AIDS represents a major threat to all of us. We hope this meeting will bring the whole world together in an initiative to define our goals and to solidify our efforts against this disease.

We are indebted to those who made this meeting possible and to those efforts that has prepared for such awareness on this serious disease. Definitely, The Abuja Summit, last April, headed by President Obasengo has paved the way to mobilize the efforts all over the world.

Mr. President

It is true that poverty, bad socioeconomic conditions, lack of education.. etc. are accelerating the spread of AIDS in poor countries. We are concluding that prevention should take a priority and patients have the right to receive affordable therapy but in order to realize our hopes, we have to stress the importance of vital issues that determine our success in fighting AIDS:

First: Weak health infrastructure is a serious limitation in the process of prevention and treatment of AIDS. Even with the introduction of vertical programs, success is limited due to the absence of the channels that can provide the heath care. The development of health system should be a priority in the fight against AIDS or any other disease.

Second: Health care for the unprivileged group is a must in the fight against AIDS. The burden from neglecting these groups outweighs any other achievements made for any country. Health policies should address these groups carefully.

Third: Alleviation of disparities in health care is a key issue in dealing with AIDS, Malaria, T,B. or other diseases. Women empowerment is a cornerstone in comprehensive development. Socioeconomic, geographical disparities need to be addressed in the design and implementation of health strategies.

Fourth: Prevention of AIDS should receive serious attention, as it is the main goal in fighting the disease and making concrete achievement. Investing in research should be encouraged and supported as this could lead to real control of the disease.

Fifth: Any strategy dealing with AIDS or other diseases will never make a realistic impact unless we solve the problems related to accessibility of affordable medicine. The balance between human rights in health and the rights for intellectual properties is a key issue in solving many problems and in curing the growing dilemma in the third world. Charities cannot be the lasting solution for this problem. Sustainable solution is difficult unless a realistic approach is encouraged. We believe that a partnership
between multinational and the local pharmaceutical industries could be one of the promising solutions for this major problem.

Sixth: It is important to ensure sustainable holistic mufti-sectoral approach. Integration with non-governmental organizations and Civil Society in providing prevention and health care is needed especially for the unprivileged and inaccessible groups. Moral and religious values have protected many countries and we should not omit these resources when it is now desperately needed. The fight against AIDS need to solidify our forces and efforts both nationally and internationally, governmental and non-governmental.

Seventh: Financial support is a major limitation to all our strategies unless this is provisionally established. The development of a global fund is the right start but sustainability and effectiveness should be ensured. Priority identification is a major determinant in the fight of this serious disease.

Ladies and Gentlemen

Egypt will strongly support this initiative and will work with solidarity towards this noble cause. I hope in the near future, we will prove our commitment in a serious action for those who have been affected and to prevent any further spread of the disease.