Secretary-General's remarks at dinner hosted by Lee Bollinger, President, Colombia University, in honour of Dr. Allan Rosenfield, Dean, Mailman School of Public Health

Ladies and gentlemen,

Dear Allan,

I think every speaker this evening has faced the same problem: where do I begin? How on earth does one do justice to the achievements of one human being, which have meant so much to so many people around the world?

Perhaps we all need to do what I think Allan does: begin with the individual, and the rest will follow.

In his pioneering work for maternal and child health, Allan has emphasized the rights and well-being of mothers. That is how he has ensured that the “M” in “MCH” gets the attention it needs and deserves.

In his work for reproductive health and family planning, Allan has concentrated on the realities and needs of individuals and their families. That is how he has been able to promote safe and effective contraception both in this country and around the world.

The same focus on the individual drove Allan's work on the MTCT Plus inititiave to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. That partnership, launched five years ago, became instrumental in inspiring the whole endeavour to bring treatment to people living with HIV worldwide.

And the same is true of Allan's wider fight for the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS, in this country and around the world -- and always with an emphasis on the pandemic's impact on women.

In that mission, Allan has been one of most determined in asking the tough questions about why women are more vulnerable to HIV.

He has been one of the most outspoken about the inequalities that put women at risk -- unjust, unconscionable risk.

Allan has been at the vanguard of efforts to address the factors that conspire to make this so: poverty, abuse and violence, lack of information, coercion by men, and men having several concurrent sexual relationships that entrap young women in a network of infection.

And he has understood that these factors cannot be addressed piecemeal. What is needed is real, positive change that will give more power and confidence to women and girls. Change that will transform relations between women and men at all levels of society.

How deeply appropriate it is that we gather for this tribute to Allan this week, as the world also marks 25 years of living with HIV/AIDS.

And that we do so just a few days after Member States of the United Nations concluded their High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS with a pledge to promote gender equality, the empowerment of women and the protection of girls; respect for the full rights of people living with HIV/AIDS; provision of the full range of HIV prevention measures; and strengthened protection for all vulnerable groups -- whether sex workers, injecting drug users, or men who have sex with men.

Allan, throughout your 20 years at the helm of the Mailman School, you have put the needs and rights of human beings at the centre of your mission. You did so again when you co-chaired the Task Force on Child Health and Maternal Health for the United Nations Millennium Project -- a landmark document that sets out a roadmap for our continued work to reach the Millennium Development Goals.

We all know that it is Governments who are primarily responsible for ensuring that world reaches the Millennium Development Goals. But let me return once more to the individual, and say that, if we do succeed, it will be in no small part thanks to the efforts of individuals like Allan Rosenfield.

Allan, that is why I feel privileged to be part of this tribute to you this evening. We in the United Nations feel that we are part of your extended family, and we couldn't have got this far without you. We all owe you a big debt for helping to show us the way. Please allow us to present you with this small token of our gratitude.