Opening Remarks

It is a pleasure to return here, friends and colleagues, fellow warriors.  We could not be gathered to discuss a more important issue.  It is our imperative duty and our privilege to do all we can, together as well as individually, to keep the focus on HIV/AIDS.  We must never forget the harsh realities and the human face of this pandemic, even as we look forward with hope and determination.  This meeting is a special venue that allows us to do just that that.  

This meeting also comes at a critical time, as the world looks to the major upcoming meeting of the G8 countries in July and a major stock-taking summit at the United Nations in September.  The topic of HIV/AIDS and the strong focus, so well reflected here, on Africa are critical to the success of that event.

All gathered here know well the global HIV/AIDS statistics: in a sense, we can never hear them too often, though always we need to translate the numbers into people.  The close of 2004 saw some 40 million people around the world HIV-positive or afflicted with full-blown AIDS.  More than half are women, and some 2.2 million are children.  More than 95 percent of people living with HIV/AIDS live in developing countries. Some 5 million—or 12.5 percent —contracted the disease during 2004; the majority were less than 25 years of age.  More than 3 million people died of AIDS-related causes during the year.   In 1990, less than 1 million children in Africa had lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS.  By 2001 that number had ballooned to 11 million, and it is projected to rise to 20 million by 2010.  The pandemic rages on, and the battle against it must rage on as well.

We must continue to learn what works and what does not in terms o