Mr. President

I have the pleasure of addressing on the occasion of this summons of a peremptory nature that is due to the need for the international community to directly devote itself to the task of reducing and eliminating within the shortest possible time, the scourge that is represented by the propagation of the human immuno-deficiency virus(HIV)

The task that lies ahead for us must be subject to the full comprehension that we are faced with a problem of a global nature, whose components that refer to the prevention, care, support and treatment must be dealt with in an inseparable manner since we must bear in mind that each of them mutually reinforce the others. It is also essential to indicate that the reduction and elimination of this phenomenon inevitably must undergo a frontal attack in all the regions of the world, without exception.

Mr. President

From a health perspective, it seems likely that no other problem compromises the future of our peoples in such a negative fashion as does the HIV infection and the different illnesses derived from it. The nature of the problem and its profound linkage with elements that are theoretically preventable, but that in practice are beyond the control of public health measures have transformed our understanding of the health?illness binomial. Added to this factor, the impact that it has on individuals affected by the epidemic and its results seriously affect the economic and social development of our respective countries.

Faced with this scenario, we have responded in Peru to this epidemic by taking the following decisions:

An Integral Program for the Control of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and AIDS (PROCETSS) with defined objectives, with the assignment of its own budget and which is currently in the stage of reinforcing the strategies for prevention and care for the benefit of the community in general.

The enactment of Law 26626 that took place on June 20, 1996 called the ANTIAIDS Law, which has Regulations which basically seeks to draw up a National ANTIAIDS Plan.

In the aforementioned National Plan, the strategies for intervention are oriented towards the reinforcement on a national level of the early diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections; interventions for changes in behavior; the supplying of free anti?retroviral treatments for pregnant women infected with HIV to reduce the vertical transmission as well as for the recently born from an infected mother including artificial lactation, the supplying of safe blood and the promotion of the proper bio?safety practice and the offer of quality services for HIV/AIDS affected persons, all of this registered within the promotion and protection of the human rights of persons affected by this epidemic.
Within the above context, we must affirm that the generalization of the epidemic is not the only route, nor is it a sequential path. Therefore, our goal as a country is to stop the expansion of the epidemic. For this, it is essential to stabilize it in its current state and reduce it by using the appropriate preventive measures.

The figures of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Peru by December, 2000, indicate that we are still in an epidemic that is concentrated, above all, in the population of Men that have Sex with Men (Prevalence 11 %). The number of cases of AIDS accumulated to date is 11,360 cases. With regard to the routes of transmission that have been detected, the sexual transmission of the epidemic predominates (96%), the second in frequency is vertical transmission-mother to child - (2.19 % of the cases) and thirdly parenteral transmission (1.85%). However, we must point out the swift increase of transmission towards women that may indicate the risk of going from an epidemic concentrated in groups with a high prevalence to an epidemic that is generalized in the population.

Mr. President:

According to the situation described on a national level, Peru's expectations with regard to the results derived from the Declaration of Commitments are extremely important. In this sense, we consider it to be pertinent for the international community as a whole to grant the maximum political support to all the resolutions adopted at this time.
We also consider that the promotion and protection of the human rights of the persons affected by the epidemic is essential to concentrate ourselves on the specific measures suggested by each national reality. We are conscious that the prevalence of the infection in the most vulnerable and high risk groups is different from one society to another but it is also necessary to acknowledge its existence, while respective the cultural beliefs of each country so as to execute specific programs. Within this framework, the sexual rights of women stand out as an essential component for any strategy against VIIVAIDS.

The acknowledgment of the indispensable substantive reduction of the prices of the anti?retrovirals is another factor that we now recognize and in this sense we are pleased with the international tendency towards it since it undoubtedly permits an adequate access to these public properties. Finally, the creation of a Global Fund with new and additional resources will be essential to materialize any agreement that we may reach at this time. Peru maintains that it will be essential for this Fund to be managed in a very open manner and fully in line with a comprehensive vision that maintains in an integral manner all the components that is prevention, care, support and treatment which are essential to fight this scourge on a global level.

Mr. President:

I wish to state that the delegation of Peru assigns the highest priority to the resolutions that may issue from this General Assembly and we repeat our political commitment to jointly work at a national and international level on the strategies to reduce and eliminate the HIV/AIDS .

Thank you

WHAT IS THE PROPOSAL THAT WE HAVE AS A COUNTRY?

According to each work group called in Peru, we have managed to obtain:

1. Prevention of HIV/AIDS:

Two main items appear within this subject that are directed towards the posing and implementation of measures to prevent infection by HIV/AIDS.

The guidelines which refer to guaranteeing the access of the population to the programs and services oriented towards the prevention of ITS/HIV/AIDS. We can identify here very important aspects such as including the prevention contents within the training and education of the population, particularly of youths and other groups regarded as vulnerable; the reinforcement of early diagnosis and timely treatment of ITS, the supplying of safe blood, the implementation of a reduction in the vertical transmission of the HIV, the programs and services that perform measures of prevention and the necessary supplies for them.

The exchange of experiences and the generation of studies and research performed by researchers, persons living with the HIV, institutions that perform support and promotion measures in the struggle fgainst H1V/AIDS both on a national as well as an international level.

2. Care of HIV /AIDS:

The care requires the guidelines that are proposed that are destined to the supplying and accessibility of proper heath services mainly directed towards patients living with HIV/AIDS.

The access to treatment, quality medicines and other supplies must be a joint task in which the State and other institutions involved will guarantee their supply. It must have a legal and administrative and financial framework for this purpose including the contributions of society that will allow them to be offered to persons infected with HIV/AIDS.

3. Human Rights and HIV/AIDS:

A large part of the proposal was destined to guarantee, protect and defend the human rights of the persons living with HIV/AIDS. Concepts such as rights, citizenship, mechanisms for the protection of vulnerable communities, respect for minorities, discrimination, conditioning of the HIV test, access to treatment and observance of national and international rules have been included and this must commit society and mainly the media to the reduction, of the stigma related to HIV/AIDS.

4. Social and Economic Impact:

This translates into a conviction of the involvement in the struggle against HIV/AIDS of the different State sectors, social sectors and private enterprise to alleviate the individual, social and economic impact of the epidemic. In this concert of efforts and wills, the need to commit civil society and the joint participation of social institutions has been foreseen to reinforce the programs that are is charge of directing government policies on control of HIV/AIDS.

5. National and International Cooperation:

The resources that come from national and international cooperation must promote the inclusion of horizontal guidelines with contents that are mainly of information, education and communication for the exercise of sexual and reproductive rights, gender equity and prevention of violence. Finally, these resources must be granted within the framework of an integral health care, seeking the institutionality that will ensure the impact and the sustainability.