His Excellency the President of the General Assembly
Your Excellencies, Heads of Governments
Your Excellencies, Ministers of Health and Heads of Delegations
Distinguished delegates
Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is with great pride that I represent the Republic of Liberia at this momentous occasion. Understanding the global impact of HIV/AIDS, the President of the Republic of Liberia, Dr. Charles G. Taylor, would like to thank the United Nations for convening this General Assembly Special Session as a demonstration of its commitment to ensuring that the world join hands in this concerted effort to combat HIV/AIDS With sub-Saharan Africa under attack by this deadly pandemic, it is incumbent upon Liberia to do her share in minimizing the effect on our populace and contribute to the decrease of the rate of infection on our continent, hence the world.

With our current prevalence rate at an alarming 8.2%, we find ourselves on the verge of an explosion. Conventional interventions seem effective but still leave a gap between awareness and education. With negative influencing factors such as high illiteracy rate, massive migration and an increasing level of poverty in Liberia, we are left with no options other than adopting a new approach which is in consonance with the resolutions enshrined within the framework of the African Development Forum and the Abuja Declaration. As partnership and leadership at all levels are the key to curbing the trend of this disease, we must explore and foster new collaborations and strengthen existing ones, within the framework of the International Partnership against AIDS, to enable us develop an holistic approach which will include among others care and support for persons living with AIDS, empowerment of women and different measures geared towards poverty alleviation.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen:

As Liberians endeavor to come to terms with the recently imposed United Nations sanctions, which has brought additional hardship to the war-weary population of Liberia, we would like to express our profound gratitude to the Government and people of the Republic of China for the various types of assistance we have received in the revitalization of our health sector. We would like to make specific mention of the donation of five(5) million condoms in strengthening our HIV/AIDS interventions. In other areas of health, the Taiwan Roots Medical Peace Corps, which responds to appeals for emergency relief from countries of armed conflict or natural disasters, has carried out two campaigns in Liberia, treating about 1500 patients. The Government of the Republic of France, has also stepped up to support our 3 year National Multi-sectoral Strategic Plan of Action in the areas of AIDS awareness and prevention, training and establishment of 2 volunteer counseling and testing centers.

In spite of these, there is still need for additional sources of bi-lateral and multilateral funding. The current level of resources mobilized and invested in 1-(I1//AIDS prevention and care, and in poverty alleviation need to be more than doubled. This sort of assistance is indispensable if we are to succeed in this fight against this deadly disease. The problem of external international obligations creates even greater difficulties in that we are harnessed with this strangulating problem of debt relief. The fight against AIDS would, have a greater chance of success if the developed countries could streamline the HIPIC initiative so as to make it less of a burden on developing countries and especially those emerging from civil crises.

Mr. President, the Government and people of Liberia would like to take this time to commend the Secretary General of the United Nations, Dr. Kofi Annan, for this bold initiative of his to establish a Global Fund for the fight against HIV/AIDS. Liberia is committed to this fund and hereby pledges US$25,000 to this fund. We must all demonstrate our national commitment to fighting this scourge by contributing to the fund and also developing mechanisms for the sustenance of global Fund supported interventions. All efforts must be made to ensure affordability of life-saving medicines and other commodities in poor countries, through price reduction and other mechanisms.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

They number of people infected with HIV/AIDS now stand at 36.1 million globally, With sub-Saharan Africa accounting for about 75%. There are 13.5 million children orphaned to HIV/AIDS; already we can not afford to educate the majority of children on our continent, how do we care for them? The Government of Nigeria must also be commended along with the Organization of African Unity, for the hosting of an OAU Heads of State Summit on HIV/AIDS, the first of its kind. I thank you.