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Global AIDS activist coalition demands Accountability and action on AIDS from G7 heads of state:
Drop the Debt
Fund the Fund
Treat the People
Pay the Nurses
Background: While governments acted quickly to pledge large amounts to respond to the tsunami in south Asia, there has been less political will regarding AIDS and debt. In terms of the death toll, AIDS, Tb and malaria equal the impact of the tsunami every two weeks.
Every year, many impoverished countries spend more on debt service than they pay on social services like health care and education. Yet, negotiations among the G8 over debt cancellation have reached an impasse, and the G8 meeting in July may fail to agree on full cancellation for debts owed to the IMF and World Bank. Protestors are demanding an agreement on 100% multilateral debt cancellation without harmful conditions by April 16-17, when the IMF and World Bank hold their Spring Meetings
The Global Fund is a critical part of the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria, yet it is facing a $900 million shortfall in 2005. It lacks the necessary funds to move forward with the renewal of prior grants and the issuing of new grants in 2006. This is a matter of life and death for millions around the world. The pledged contributions to the Fund from France, Germany and United Kingdom for 2006 are the same as for 2005, even though the Fund's needs will increase dramatically in 2006. Japan has failed to pledge any contribution whatsoever for 2005 or 2006. These governments, as well as the US, should give their fair share according to their proportion of global wealth. Governments will consider the Fund's needs at a Meeting on a Voluntary Replenishment Mechanism in Stockholm, Sweden, 14-16 March 2005.
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ACTION REPORTS
Will 2005 produce G8 leaders that are all mouth and no trousers? Or, will 2005 see G8 leaders Make AIDS History? 3 million people are dying to find out.
- March 15, 2005 (London) As the 1st Global Replenishment Conference got under way in Stockholm today Make AIDS History campaigners and activists from across the UK converged in London to turn the heat up on Number 10 and the London based embassies of G8 countries to urge them to find the $2bn needed to fund the WHO initiative to get 3 million people on urgently needed HIV/AIDS treatment by 2005. Charging G8 leaders with being "all mouth and no trousers", activists hidden behind G7 leader facemasks arrived at each embassy suited and booted (but without trousers) under the banner of the WHO 3x5 logo to deliver letters demanding that each government commit to its fair share to fill the funding gap.
Whilst they met with a matched turn out of police in front of the American and Canadian Embassies responses from others were more positive. Francoise Croquette, Minister Consular for French Embassy, said they were committed to the 3 by 5 target, the Japanese Secretary for Economics, Sachiko Ishibashi confirmed announcement of a contributions to the Global Fund this April and the German Ambassador expressed his full support for the campaign. Letters were delivered to the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown in Downing Street. It remains to be seen whether governments will follow through on their alleged commitment to the 3 by 5 initiative or fall foul of the activists cry. 3 million people's lives hang in the balance.
Click here to view photos from the demonstration >>
- March 16, 2005 (Toronto) Students Against Global AIDS (SAGA) Canada joins forces with civil society organizations from around the world under the banner of Make AIDS History. SAGA chapters at the University of Toronto, University of Saskatchewan, University of Guelph and McGill University held rallies, write-a-thons, and speaker events to launch the Make AIDS History campaign.
Whilst they met with a matched turn out of police in front of the American and Canadian Embassies responses from others were more positive. Francoise Croquette, Minister Consular for French Embassy, said they were committed to the 3 by 5 target, the Japanese Secretary for Economics, Sachiko Ishibashi confirmed announcement of a contributions to the Global Fund this April and the German Ambassador expressed his full support for the campaign. Letters were delivered to the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown in Downing Street. It remains to be seen whether governments will follow through on their alleged commitment to the 3 by 5 initiative or fall foul of the activists cry. 3 million people's lives hang in the balance.
Click here to view photos from the demonstration >> | Download SAGA press release>>
MEMORANDUM TO G7 HEADS OF STATE
FROM U.S. COALITION
March 15, 2005
Prime Minster Tony Blair
President George W. Bush
President Jacques Chirac
Prime Minister Paul Martin
President Junichiro Koizumi
Chancellor Gerhard Schröder
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
The AIDS crisis in Africa is the greatest public health and human rights disaster of our time. 6500 Africans alone die unnecessary deaths from HIV—because they do not have access to life sustaining treatment. The National Intelligence Council estimates that unless there is a massive scale up in the response from governments, there will be 100 million infections in just five years.
American activists are calling on you, the G7 Heads of State, to do more than simply put Africa on the agenda of the 2005 G7 meeting. You must make several basic commitments—as early as the Development Ministers meeting March 17-18 in Derbyshire, England—in order to begin to reverse the suffering and destabilization caused by the AIDS crisis. We, representatives of AIDS activist, social justice, student, human rights, faith based and other national and international organizations including Africa Action, African Services Committee, ACT UP Philadelphia, ACT UP New York, Student Global AIDS Campaign, Health GAP, American Medical Students Association, Jubilee USA, Project TEACH, Community Living Room, Minute By Minute, and 50 Years is Enough demand that you:
- CANCEL THE DEBT, 100 PER CENT: Immediately commit to 100% cancellation of the debts owed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank for all impoverished countries, without harmful or externally imposed economic conditions. Limited relief within the confines of the flawed HIPC process is not sufficient. The debts should be cancelled using the resources of the IMF and the World Bank, and must be additional to donor funding commitments. Although the recent February G7 Finance Ministers meeting resulted in a political signal that "up to 100%" cancellation was possible, many G7 countries still support harmful conditionalities, drastic restrictions on the number of countries who could benefit from cancellation, or only support limited relief from debt service payment, rather than a full cancellation of debt stock.
- FULLY FUND THE GLOBAL FUND: UNAIDS estimates that globally, $20 billion will need to be spent fighting AIDS by 2007. The UK's Commission for Africa Report, released March 11 2005 recommended that G7 countries fully fund the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the most effective international mechanism for fighting these three infectious diseases of poverty. We applaud this recommendation, and urge you immediately to pay your countries' fair share of the Global Fund's need, not only this year and in 2006, but also pledge into the future, in order to signal to grant recipients that this mechanism is sustainable and reliable. Even though G7 countries represent the lion's share of the world economy, most have consistently snubbed the Global Fund. 2005 is a "make-or-break" year for the Global Fund, as it has to pay for grant renewals as well as new commitments, effectively doubling the cost of doing business. Shamefully, virtually no donor country is paying its fair share.
- COMMIT TO UNIVERSAL TREATMENT ACCESS: The World Health Organization has acknowledged that lack of access to HIV treatment in developing countries is a public health emergency. But the WHO "3 by 5" project to expand treatment access by 2005 to 3 million people reports a $2 billion funding gap. Treatment scale up—saving lives—should be a fundamental part of the G7 countries' response to the AIDS crisis. The G7 countries must commit to funding and supporting efforts to increase treatment coverage to at least 6 million by 2007, and commit to an urgent timeline for achieving universal treatment access thereafter.
For more information, contact: Asia Russell, Health GAP: +1 267 475 2645/asia@healthgap.org
SOLIDARITY AND ACTION ARE NEEDED TO WIN TREATMENT ACCESS FOR ALL
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