President of the General Assembly; Your Excellency Secretary General; Ladies and Gentlemen;

    Let me thank Secretary General Kofi Annan, for convening this Special Session on HIV /AIDS, and for his efforts in mobilising resources for
the Global AIDS and Health Fund.

    As we all recognise, HIV/AIDS is a threat to social and economic development as well as to global security, as underscored by the United Nations Security Council, among others. Hence this Special Session that follows other important gatherings on HIV/AIDS.

    In Africa, the Addis Ababa Summit emphasized the role of leadership at all levels of society in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

    The Abuja Summit focussed on sustainable resource-mobilisation and concrete actions to contain the HIV/AIDS pandeniic.

    African women have undertaken important initiatives in this regard.

    For example, in May this year, the African First Ladies Summit held in Kigali, Rwanda, emphasized
the urgent need to pay special attention to the most vulnerable groups on our continent: children, youth and women.

    We must harness the experience and wisdom gained from these sessions in
our battle against the HIV/AIDS scourge.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

    Let me now briefly share with you the experience of my country. Rwanda is among the 14 Sub-Saharan African countries most seriously affected by HIV/AIDS.

    It is currently estimated that some 400,000 Rwandans out of a total population of 8 million are infected.

    In our case, one of the contributing factors was the 1994 Genocide, in which untold numbers of women and young girls were systematically raped. The impact by this episode of our history has not yet been fully grasped. The massive internal and external dislocation and movements of millions of people during this period also contributed to the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Distinguished Excellencies

    Despite these challenges, we have undertaken a number of initiatives to combat HIV/AIDS in my country, including the following:

•  A national campaign to sensitive leadership at all levels of society has been, mounted, leading to a significant proportion of our people to volunteer for HIV/AIDS testing; this has led to ? ten-fold increase of voluntary testing since 1997.
• A programme for prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission is now in place;
• A Government has initiated a scheme of purchasing anti-retroviral drugs, which are made available to the public at subsidised rates;
•  The National Commission for HIV/AIDS was established to coordinate all HIV/AIDS activities;
• The Rwandan youth have taken a leading role in their own right, as demonstrated by the establishment of anti-AIDS clubs in almost all secondary schools in the country;

Ladies and Gentlemen

    HIV/AIDS can be tamed and eventually defeated.

    The immediate goal in this quest is a focussed global strategy that is realistic, practical, and effective, particularly in regard
to resource-mobilisation, and management. Prevention programs, among other things, should become central in the unfolding strategy.

    It is imperative that accountability and transparency become the hallmark of this strategy in its implementation.

I thank you