YouSaid · the spoken record

Piot

lines on the record: 81
first: 2000-01-10
most recent: 2005-07-18
sittings or episodes: 6
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“We are researching the situation of patents on anti-HIV medicine and disseminating that information to countries. A contact group has been set up by the Programme Coordinating Board - the governing body of UNAIDS - to accompany this process, which, we should be under no illusions, is very complex and will take a long time. With regard to the proposal of France for the convening of an international meeting of interested parties to try to find a solution to the problem - we are all a part of the problem - we have agreed with France to initiate discussions on the specific outcome expected of such a meeting, where to place it in the overall context and its relevance to any future special session of the General Assembly.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“But very little progress has been achieved in terms of treating people with HIV/AIDS in developing countries. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), working together with our co- sponsoring agencies - the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Population Fund and the World Bank - has undertaken a number of initiatives. Our negotiations with the pharmaceutical industry are the best known of them, but we are exploring other avenues, too. It is not just a matter of the cost of the medicines, but also of the infrastructure of the health services, training and the funding of treatment. That is why we must take a global approach to the problem. We are also exploring other alternatives, such as working with the manufacturers of generic pharmaceutical products.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“I wish to thank the members of the Council and other delegations for their statements and support for the struggle we are waging. There are just two points I wish to make. One, which was raised in a number of statements - first by Namibia and subsequently by other delegations - is on access to health care medicine. I wish first to emphasize that access to health care is now inseparable from prevention in the struggle against HIV/AIDS, whereas until recently all the emphasis was placed on prevention. At a time when 25 million people in the continent of Africa and 35 million people worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS, it would unthinkable not to take care of those infected. We have had undeniable success in terms of prevention in poor countries, a fact that was emphasized on a daily basis during the International AIDS Conference in Durban.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“Commitment is vital, and resolutions will help. But the world must do more than talk about this epidemic. We must end it.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“UNAIDS co-sponsors and its secretariat are willing to work with Governments to ensure that the voluntary testing recommended in this draft resolution not only respects the human rights of individuals, but also achieves the goal towards which it is directed: to protect both the peacekeeping troops and the communities in which they operate. Remarkably, AIDS is at the centre of the Council's deliberations for the second time this year. We really applaud its foresight. I thank the Council for its commitment and, finally, ask for its support. Implementing the conclusions of the Durban Conference will cost money. Last week, I told the world that beating back this epidemic in Africa alone will cost $3 billion per year for basic prevention and basic care, which is almost 10 times what is being spent today. I repeat this appeal again this morning.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“The results of voluntary testing should be confidential, provided in a non-stigmatized environment, and should include pre-test counselling, informed consent and post-test counselling. Testing without informed consent and confidentiality should be avoided, as there is no evidence that such testing achieves public-health goals. On the contrary, such practices often drive the epidemic underground and complicate other prevention measures. There are, however, many successful counselling and testing services in many parts of the world, so Governments should make such programmes available within the uniformed services - as they should in the civilian community.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“We agree with the authors of this draft resolution that voluntary and confidential HIV testing, accompanied by counselling, has a Vital role to play in HIV prevention. The value of this approach in terms of better preventive behaviour was made clear in several studies presented at the Durban Conference. Its benefits include improved health through earlier access to care and treatment; better ability to cope with HIV-related anxiety; and motivation and support to initiate or maintain safer sexual behaviours. To maximize the effectiveness of voluntary testing and counselling, it must be offered as one element in a comprehensive range of HIV prevention and support services.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“In conclusion, let me now turn to the draft resolution on HIV/AIDS the Security Council is considering. We very much welcome the recognition that HIV/AIDS has adverse effects on all sectors of society. It is, in fact, the breadth and scope of these effects that make AIDS a threat to human security and a potentially destabilizing force worldwide. The emphasis of the draft resolution on the uniformed services is also significant. During the last several months, the UNAIDS secretariat has sharpened its own focus on training and prevention measures among uniformed services. In the second operative paragraph, the draft resolution urges all Member States to institute voluntary and confidential counselling and testing for HIV for members of national uniformed forces, particularly troops to be deployed to international peacekeeping missions.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“Of particular interest to the Council are the intensified discussions now under way with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, focusing on ways to promote responsible behaviour among staff providing humanitarian aid and peacekeeping troops. Specific follow-up actions include training before and during deployment as well as the development of a United Nations medical policy on HIV/AIDS for personnel associated with United Nations missions, including the ensuring of adequate supplies of condoms. The UNAIDS Humanitarian Coordination Unit will be working closely with the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and a number of civil defence and military organizations in these areas.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“Already a number of countries have been identified for the first phase of this effort. The majority are in Africa but countries in crisis and conflict in Asia, Latin America and Europe have also been included. We have developed a matrix of the strengths of each participating agency in order to build on existing activities and avoid duplication. Country-specific plans of action for moving forward are being formulated. Multi-year budgets are being developed to support these plans, and two basic packages will be developed for AIDS prevention and care in complex emergencies. The first is for use during the acute stages of the crisis, and the second is for pre- and post-crisis situations.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“Finally, as a follow-up to the Security Council discussions, an Inter-Agency Standing Committee working group endorsed an action plan last May which emphasizes the importance of incorporating AIDS also into humanitarian action. It addresses, inter alia, the role of the uniformed services and peacekeeping forces in the prevention and spread of HIV; the epidemic's potential to contribute to social instability and emergency situations; and the need to ensure minimum standards of prevention and care before, during and immediately after conflicts or disasters occur. To implement the proposed actions, which the Standing Committee working group charged the UNAIDS secretariat with spearheading, a humanitarian coordination unit was established by that secretariat in June.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“This Partnership brings together, under the leadership of African Governments, the United Nations system, donor Governments and the private and the community sectors. They all have joined forces under a common framework for action, which was endorsed last week at the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Summit of heads of State or Government in Lome. More importantly, I would say, the most significant progress is being made at the country level through, among other achievements, a successful round table in Malawi, which mobilized more than $100 million for AIDS in the country; the creation by the Government of special funds in Burkina Faso and Ghana; renewed community responses in Ethiopia; strategic plans in Mozambique; and the establishment of high-level national coordination councils in Tanzania and other countries.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“This effort - in collaboration with relevant Government departments and supported by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom (DFID), and the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) - will enable easy access through the World Wide Web to the latest summary information on the epidemic in specific countries as well as regular updates on the financial support and programmatic actions of various partners in a particular country. Secondly, the International Partnership against AIDS in Africa, which I described in my statement to the Council last January and which was convened by the Secretary-General in December 1999, is making substantial progress.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“But first let me assure the Council that the question of AIDS is now at the top of the agenda of the organizations making up the United Nations system, as illustrated by the debate and resolutions of the Administrative Committee on Coordination, the governing bodies of numerous agencies and programmes, the World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) Development Committee in April, and as highlighted by the Secretary-General's report to the Millennium Assembly. But what have we done in terms of more concrete actions? First, we have intensified clearing house efforts on information on AIDS in Africa within the United Nations, as requested by several members of the Council in January. One of the most comprehensive initiatives in this regard is the Country Response Monitoring Project, which will be launched this month.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“No wonder AIDS is the first health and development issue to be considered a threat to global peace and security. When I spoke to the Council last January, I outlined the relationship between AIDS and war. I brought up the issue of humanitarian aid workers and uniformed services. I suggested that they could be powerful agents of prevention if they are well trained in HIV prevention and behaviour change. Equally important, of course, they can protect themselves from HIV infection. I said that it was a matter of getting our priorities straight and of doing what we know would make a difference. The last six months have strengthened my resolve in this regard. I will not repeat what I shared with the Council last January. Instead, I will focus on the actions we have taken to date on the basis of that discussion.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“I believe that this Conference came, and is coming, at a turning point in the epidemic - particularly the epidemic in Africa, but also outside Africa. It's underlying message was one of hope; that prevention works and that there are many examples of it; and that it is possible to improve the treatment and care offered to people living with the Virus. I must say that access to treatment was the main theme at the Conference. Yet the latest news is not so good. Our report to the International Conference confirms that the AIDS epidemic continues its expansion, particularly in Africa, where there are now 16 countries in which more than one tenth of the adult population aged 15-49 is infected. The social and economic gains of the last several decades hang in the balance.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“Dr. Piot: I come to you today directly from the International Conference on AIDS, in Durban, South Africa, where over 10,000 people from all over the world gathered, as they called it, to break the silence around AIDS. It was the first such conference in the South and in Africa and it generated unprecedented attention to the AIDS problem in the developing world, particularly in Africa. The meeting was opened by President Thabo Mbeki and closed by former President Nelson Mandela, who stated that "The challenge is to move from rhetoric to action, and action at an unprecedented intensity and scale. There is a need for us to focus on what we know works." I believe this can be the theme for our further deliberations.”
2000-07-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4172 (2000) · source
“Thirdly, we will work with the presidency of the Security Council in follow-up to this meeting to work through the details of how appropriate and regular follow- up with the Security Council should be implemented. Fourthly, in response to the request of the Permanent Representatives of the United Kingdom and France, we will intensify clearing-house efforts within the United Nations and ensure the flow of current information to all of the member States on the international response and report to the Council within one month. Fifthly, we will also put forward a specific plan of partnership for addressing AIDS in emergencies and in the uniformed services within two months. Last, we will be very pleased to follow up in writing individual questions raised by Security Council members, as requested.”
2000-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4087Resumption1 (2000) · source
“First, we must deliver on our commitment, growing out of the Secretary-General's meeting of 6 December on the International Partnership against AIDS in Africa, to have reached agreement by May among African Governments, donor Governments, the United Nations system, non-governmental organizations and the private sector on a specific plan for a major intensification and mobilization to address the epidemic in Africa. Secondly, in response to your specific request, Sir, and that of the Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom, we will also ensure that there is systemic coordination between the development of this Partnership and the Security Council.”
2000-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4087Resumption1 (2000) · source
“Dr. Piot: Thank you, Mr. President, for the opportunity to make a few very brief follow-up points. As you said, I am speaking on behalf of Jim Wolfensohn, Mark Malloch Brown, and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) partners. I think we are faced with a great opportunity, and I would like to assure the Council of our collective determination to do our part. In response to your specific requests, Mr. President, and those of Security Council members, we will follow up on at least six specific points.”
2000-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4087Resumption1 (2000) · source
“Dr. Piot: Yes, actually, this is one of our major functions and roles. Such a clearing house exists on a regional basis and in countries. The theme groups on HIV/AIDS started doing that within the United Nations system four years ago. Now they are reaching out; bilateral donors, other actors, are joining these groups, and one of the first functions is information exchange. That is also happening at the continental level; and it is something that is available partly through web sites as well as through other means. What I think will be needed is to push that through, because, first of all, not every body has included HIV in its development portfolio; and secondly, we also have to do a better job when it comes to the private sector and non- governmental organizations - what they are actually taking on.”
2000-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4087Resumption1 (2000) · source
“It is not and African problem or an Asian problem, but a global problem. The fact that in the first month of the millennium the Security Council sees fit to discuss AIDS in Africa is surely symbolic. I believe that it signals our collective will to stop this epidemic and our pledge to history that we will not turn our backs and let AIDS devastate another generation of young African women and men.”
2000-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4087 (2000) · source
“Shifting to 50 and then 75 per cent and upwards must be the commitment of all of us here. In the response to the epidemic, there are two bottom lines. The bottom line for the future is that we must develop and make available affordable vaccines required for preventing HIV infections. That is the bottom line for the future. However, the bottom line for today is that we must do everything in our power to apply what we know works: reducing vulnerability, preventing HIV infection through behaviour change and supporting wide- scale implementation of efforts to provide care and access to the drugs and services required to prolong and improve life. At the start of this new century, I believe that there are no development problems that more urgently command a collective response from the international community. This is a global problem.”
2000-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4087 (2000) · source
“Fourthly, and as also stressed by Vice-President Gore and Mark Malloch Brown, we agreed that the private sector must become involved in a substantial way to act immediately to strengthen workplace and community outreach interventions and, further, to work in concert with Governments to balance the difficult issues of intellectual property rights with the urgent need to develop and make available life-saving drugs and other commodities. Finally, the non-governmental organizations, including religious organizations, have a key role to play in intensifying their work at the front line of the epidemic. Members of the Council, the message that I bring you this morning is therefore one of urgency, but also one of opportunity. The resources are beginning to be mobilized, and the world is responding. But we are now only at the 10 per cent mark.”
2000-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4087 (2000) · source
“T hirdly, we expect donor Governments to take concerted action, under nationally developed strategic plans, to mainstream AIDS in setting priorities and to accept the challenge to urgently treble assistance for HIV/AIDS in Africa as a first step for more rational financing of the international response. Several Governments have recently substantially increased these commitments, and with this latest step announced by Vice- President Gore half an hour ago, the United States is the first to have trebled its level of commitment during the last six months.”
2000-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4087 (2000) · source
“First, African Governments bring the commitment to create the environment for effective decentralized action and to be aggressive in protecting and promoting human rights so that stigma can be reduced. Jim Wolfensohn and Mark Malloch Brown have already emphasized that in the United Nations system, the epidemic has already brought us together in unprecedented ways. But there is still much more to be done. We will mobilize additional and reorient existing resources to respond to the epidemic, to demonstrate concerted action in support of Governments and civil society, including such actions as involving people living with HIV in the response and supporting efforts to reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV.”
2000-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4087 (2000) · source
“To sustain and expand the prevention success stories of Uganda, Senegal and other countries, we need to mobilize between $1 and $3 billion per year. It is worth pondering how hundreds of billions of dollars were successfully mobilized over the last few years to minimize the impact of that other virus, Y2K. Over the last year, African Governments, the United Nations system, international donors, civil society and the private sector have come together to form a new international partnership against AIDS in Africa. As the Council heard, last month the Secretary-General tasked us in this very building with formulating a response commensurate with the epidemic. In closing, let me give a few examples of what each constituency of this partnership is committed to do.”
2000-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4087 (2000) · source
“Internationally, too, the tide is turning. This meeting is an illustration of that. This past June, the General Assembly special session established a new development target for 2005, based on demonstrated success in a number of countries, of reducing new infections by 25 per cent in young people. Members of the Council, the challenge is formidable but so too are the technical, financial and political resources of the international community. However, in financial needs alone, we are a long way short of meeting our mark. The most recent available figures, from 1997, indicate that the international community mobilized only $150 million for AIDS prevention for the most affected countries in Africa. This has been put into context by Mark Malloch Brown.”
2000-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4087 (2000) · source
“In Senegal, HIV infections have stayed at a very low level as a result of successful prevention campaigns. We know now what works: two decades of experience have identified the essential elements of effective strategy. Let me mention six of them: first, as Vice President Gore mentioned, visibility, openness and countering stigma, without compromise; secondly, addressing core vulnerability to HIV through social policies; thirdly, recognizing the synergy between prevention and care efforts; fourthly, targeting interventions on those most vulnerable; fifthly, encouraging and supporting strong community participation in the response; and lastly, focusing on young people, the future of the continent. Over the last 12 months, many, many African leaders have spoken out in unprecedented ways, breaking the silence and the stigma of the epidemic.”
2000-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4087 (2000) · source
“Conflict and the resulting movements of people fuel the epidemic. Refugee men, and particularly women, become highly vulnerable to HIV infection. Humanitarian aid workers and military and police forces that are well trained in HIV prevention and behaviour change can be a tremendous force for prevention as long as this is made one of their priorities. But there is also good news, and I would like to concentrate on that this morning. We are far from powerless against this epidemic. In countries where strong political leadership, openness about the issues and broad, cross-cutting responses come together, the tide is turning, and clear success is being demonstrated. We have heard about Uganda, where the rate of new infections is falling. But so it is in several communities in Africa.”
2000-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4087 (2000) · source
“Dr. Piot: I thank the Council for this opportunity to address it today on what is, I believe, one of the most important issues for this century. Twenty years ago the global community had not even heard of AIDS. Over 50 million people, cumulatively, have become infected since then. Today it is discussed in the Security Council because AIDS is not a health or development problem like any other. As we have heard, it has become, in Africa at least, an issue of human security in all senses of the word. Comprehending the full scale of the epidemic is almost impossible. We have heard the Secretary-General talk of 11 million orphans. We would be short-sighted to underestimate the long-term impact of their personal tragedies on the development and stability of Africa. War is one of the instruments of AIDS, as rape is one of the instruments of war.”
2000-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4087 (2000) · source