Mr. President, Secretary-General, Heads of States, Prime Ministers, dear colleagues and other delegates.

Even though Iceland ranks among the nations with highest income per capita of the world, enjoys a high standard of education, is an island and shares no borders with other countries, Icelanders have not been left unaffected by the. misery of AIDS. Iceland's problems in this respect, however, are minimal in comparison ith the problems of many other nations, particularly in Africa. In only 20 years, the epidemic has spread all across the world. Over 20 million people have died as a result of AIDS. Almost 40 million people, men, women and children, are afflicted by this disease at this time. Over ten million children are orphans as a result of this epidemic. The problem is therefore of enormous proportions, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, which is home to 70% of the adults and 80% of the children afflicted by the disease. [As the Secretary-General said at the beginning of this special session of the General Assembly and several speakers have already said here at the United Nations, this special session on HIV/AIDS is fully justified and I want to thank and congratulate the Secretary General for this very important initiative]. [This United Nations Special Session on HIV/AIDS is therefore fully justified]

The distribution of the disease in the world is not even. Many of the poorest nations of the world are most severely affected. The consequences of the disease are dreadful. Entire generations of young people are deprived of their lives in an untimely manner. Social institutions are decimated. Poverty is growing. Economic growth and stability are at risk. In some of the most densely populated countries of the world, the epidemic is still in its initial stages. If the epidemic spreads in these areas it will cause indescribable suffering.

What can be done? We need to face up to the problem. First of all and most importantly we need to increase preventive measures and prevent the infection of those who are not already afflicted. Life-saving drugs and medical care must be made available to all those in need. And we also need to increase medical research. We all know this, but that is not enough. In order to attain these objectives we need to promote human rights and to improve the situation of women. We need to continue the struggle against stigmatisation and prejudice towards those who are afflicted. We need to enlighten and educate. We need to influence behaviour and customs. Otherwise, we will make no progress.

The nations, which are better off, need to help those who are in need. We can do this by assisting international humanitarian organisations. We can work with the pharmaceutical industry on reducing the price of drugs and we can assist poor countries in buying drugs.

Although drugs against AIDS can save lives and reduce the odds of infected mothers passing the disease on to their children, the drugs will not work unless they reach the people who need them. This is only possible if the health services of afflicted countries are functional. Drug treatment of HIV infection is not a simple matter. The medication must be taken each day and every day. Side effects are not uncommon. Also, it must be possible to monitor the presence of viruses in the person under treatment. Otherwise there is a risk of drug resistant virus strains gaining the upper hand. This would leave us in the same position as before. Health services must be strengthened. Otherwise, we will make no progress.

Some success has been achieved in the struggle against. the spread of AIDS. This has been achieved by improving the conditions of women. This has been achieved by disseminating knowledge about the transmission chain and how to break it. This has been achieved by recruiting young people in the struggle against AIDS. This has been achieved by making drug treatment available to those who need it. This has been achieved through the active participation of HIV infected people in the struggle against AIDS. And this has been achieved where governments lead the way and actively support preventive measures and treatment.

In spite of all this we all know that HIV is here to stay as long as there is no cure and as long as we have no effective means of vaccination. The struggle now is to keep the epidemic in check and reduce it as possible. HIV infection is a chronic disease requiring life-long treatment. The governments of all countries will therefore have to take the initiative regarding long-term plans designed to reduce the social and financial impact of the epidemic. They need to take steps to improve the position of social classes which are disadvantaged and therefore at a greater risk of infection. They need to promote achievement of the goals established regarding fight against of the epidemic. They need to ensure access to treatment and care for all those who need it. They need to encourage the development of drugs and vaccines against HIV infection. And they need to ensure the availability of sufficient resources for the campaign against the AIDS epidemic.

And finally, Mr. President, I would like to mention that Iceland is now supporting the initiative of the Council of the Baltic Sea States on Communicable Disease Control in the Baltic Sea Region both financially and with medical expertise where the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis as well as other infectious diseases are high on the list.

The Icelandic government is also prepared to support the Declaration on HIV/AIDS as presented in document No .... here at this Special Session.

Before I finish I would also like to announce that the Icelandic government intends to support the special Global AIDS and Health Fund financially.

Thank you Mr. President.