Mr. President,
Mr. Secretary general,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,

It is gratifying to see the United Nations, through the able leadership of its Secretary General, making combating HIV/AIDS a focus of attention of the world community. The mechanism it has put in place and the process that it has established seems to have succeeded in involving all concerned parties to join their efforts. Allow me then to express my sincere admiration and gratitude, on behalf of my country, for the commitment and fortitude the leadership at the United Nations has shown in facing the HIV and AIDS challenge on our behalf. My delegation hopes that this gathering will help us all to employ our collective wisdom and combine our resources to support each other in combating the menace that has threatened humanity as never before. Indeed this initiative should enable us all to think and act in the wellfounded hope that the resolutions will result in concrete "do-able acts" that will benefit humanity by protecting the present and future generations from the devastation that is afflicting our societies.

Mr. President,
It is in this spirit that Eritrea lends its support to this historic event and commits itself to doing its part to make this endeavor successful. In this connection, my country associates with the Abuja Declaration of last April, which laid out the African position on the subject under discussion.

As has been noted by several speakers before me, the global HIV situation demands of us all in putting every effort at our disposal in combating and controlling the most pressing health issue ever encountered by humanity worldwide (i.e. the HIV/AIDS epidemic). If we succeeded in controlling this killer disease, and succeed we must, we would have met the monumental challenge that faces our health service organizations and, more importantly, it would greatly impact our efforts for the well?being of all of our peoples.

Needless to say, the grim numbers, which never seem to stop from shocking us all, with increasing accuracy, relay the ever mounting latest victims from this ravaging pandemic. In fact, in the past 20 years we have been faced with this deadly infectious disease. HIV/AIDS continues to elude effective vaccine or treatment. HIV is now the primary cause of death in Africa and the fourth one worldwide. I do not wish to repeat the facts that are narrated in the impressive report of the Secretary General before us. But it is my conscious intention to underline the fact that most of the 15,000 newly daily HIV/ADS cases around the world occur in developing countries. These statistical revelations overwhelm our sense of comprehension and make us feel helpless.

Mr. President,
On the other hand, however, there are many encouraging developments, that give hope and guidance to our efforts, and point to significant success in meeting the challenges we face. Some countries in Africa stand as symbols of what can be achieved if a nation as a whole commits itself from succumbing to this tragedy. Some African countries have shown that adopting an open policy combined with effective community involvement in prevention have effectively controlled the spread of the disease and others have checked the rate of exposure at an impressive less than 2% for the last five years.

Looking from these two extremes; Eritrea is still within the range of a controllable stage if a determined and concerted effort is put to bear at this crucial moment in the developing saga of the epidemic.

This reinforces the realization that concerted joint efforts would result in successful mitigation of these tragic events, a real hope for all of us who are at risk.

In Eritrea the estimate of the current national rate of infection is in the range of 3%. Statistics however, as we all know, can be misleading, especially with HIV/AIDS. Indeed, the biology of the HIV virus--with numerous strains, rapid rates of mutation and replication, and its habit of attacking and exploiting the very cells that are designed to fend off the infection-associated with socially questionable but habitually common sexual behavior, makes the rapid spread of the disease inevitable. With such a situation, it would be unwise to reassure ones self with "low rates of infection".

It is such a realization -- the danger of this disease and all its social and economic consequences -- that the Government of Eritrea, through its agency the Ministry of Health, has taken a leadership role and made a strong commitment to address this challenge with all the resources at its disposal. In the past five years it put into operation an effective national policy on AIDS, established mufti-sectoral selective and technical committees, and requested its partners in development to assist it in all the multiple approaches of controlling this real danger to the people.

Mr. President,
The response of the public, governments and multilateral instructions has been very encouraging. Particularly so was the enthusiastic involvement of the World Bank and our other development partners such as China, Denmark, Italy and the United States, so far, in this project. The World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and other UN agencies have also teamed up in this effort.

In undertaking this task, we took several important assumptions to guide our actions, in an attempt to focus our efforts on those areas that have proven to be effective:

These assumptions are:

1. HIV/AIDS is an epidemic that has proven to be a menace to public health everywhere, and no community has escaped from its effects to varying degrees. More importantly, there seems to be no significant prospect for any real change in the foreseeable future.

2. No magic bullet exists nor is it likely to exist for some time to come, and that a multiple approaches are needed.

3. There are no evident national examples in which the spread of HIV has been diminished or brought under control without behavioral changes playing a key role. Unlike other remedies, behavioral changes are within the reach of all communities. They are not exoteric, require no sophisticated scientific establishment, and they are relatively cheap compared to any other system tried.

4. That community involvement in a leadership role is fundamental in this respect.

5. The role of government in facilitating treatment, for a longer quality of life, to those already infected is vitally important.
With these assumptions in mind we decided to map out our actions with what we know will work. Experience rather than wishful thinking guided our principles.

Towards that end, we are basing our HIV/AIDS program on the following strategies:

1. Multi-sectoral approach: This requires the direct participation of all interested parties from the formulation stage. Thus a considerable number of Government Ministries, regional authorities, private institutions, humanitarian agencies, religious organizations and our partners for development were organized in functional arrangements of selective committee and technical committee both at the center and the regions. In more than a year of intense work they have produced a remarkable implementation plan, which is now being put into practice.

2. Multiple approaches with special emphasis on behavioral changes: In this approach, all involved parties have a program within their sectoral activity to put it into action. These include condom use, active participation of HIV infected persons in the campaign to prevent the spread of the disease, curative services for STDs, close follow up of TB patients and of particular concern for those who happen to be HIV positive.

3. Community leadership is crucial in empowering the community to play a leading role both in the prevention of disease, end care and support of those affected by it. This approach fundamentally depends on the community for the success and the sustainability of achieving the objectives envisioned in the program.

4. Strengthening the existing health services by providing centers for the proper implementation of the program and for assuring its sustainability for the future.

The greatest adverse effect of HIV infection control may in fact be its impact on the health services of any country in question. The need for continuous medical care for opportunistic infections and the well?being of those affected by diseases will inevitably stretch the existing resources of all nations in general (opportunistic infection is real concern). Therefore, I fervently hope that this special session will address the need of availing affordable and accessible drugs to all in need.

Mr. President,
In conclusion, as one perceptive commentator succinctly put it, (and I quote) "The history of public health efforts in AIDS prevention will undoubtedly show the folly of ignoring what we know in favour of what we might prefer".

We have and will benefit from our collective wisdom at this special session in mapping out the most effective way to control the killer HIV/AIDS. It must be the goal of the international community that the implementation of our expressed declaration and decisions at this august Assembly should be followed by unified action.

The danger is real, the task immense, but no less is our determination to succeed in this effort, for the future of our community, and society as we know it, is at risk.

Thank you Mr. President.