Activists Demand Action at Dublin AIDS Conference

The following text is based on press releases from the Central and Eastern European Harm Reduction Network (CEEHRN) and the Irish Penal Reform Trust.

People living with HIV/AIDS and their advocates staged a peaceful protest as delegates arrived in Dublin, Ireland on February 22 for the European ministerial conference “Breaking the Barriers – Partnership to fight HIV/AIDS in Europe and Central Asia.” The activists pushed for European and Central Asian governments to take strong, visible, and measurable action to effectively address HIV/AIDS in the post-Soviet countries.

"The fastest growing HIV epidemic in the world is taking place right here in Europe. We demand leaders acknowledge the scale of the problem by making the fight against HIV/AIDS a priority, as important as the war on terrorism," said Anastasia Kamlyk, from Positive Movement in Belarus.

During the two-day conference in Dublin, representatives from more than 50 governments in Europe and Central Asia reviewed national and regional responses to HIV/AIDS. “We see the potential of this conference to mobilize political commitment to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS. We cannot allow it to be just another piece of theatre,” said Julian V. Hows of the Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS. “This meeting is only useful if it results in governments committing real resources to provide treatment, care and prevention services for HIV/AIDS. Talk is cheap and does not save lives.”

Russia, Ukraine, and other Eastern European nations face an epidemic of huge proportions, with almost 2 million people already infected, the majority of whom are under 30 years old. “In order to save lives and avoid this developmental crisis impacting across all of Europe, governments must unite and respond; not only with funding, but with rational and humane policies that protect the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS and those at risk of infection.” said Anya Sarang, coordinator of the Central and Eastern European Harm Reduction Network.

The World Health Organization recently declared the treatment gap a global health emergency and launched its "3 by 5" initiative, which strives to meet the ultimate goal of universal access to medicine as a basic human right. Its first measurable target is scaling up treatment to 3 million people, including 100,000 in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, by 2005. “This is the kind of visionary leadership we are looking for, and we cannot let it fail,” declared Mauro Guarinieri, chairman of the European AIDS Treatment Group. “We ask all decision-makers and officials present at the Dublin Meeting to commit themselves and their governments to implement, through national and EU laws, the WTO August 30, 2003, Agreement on Access to Medicines, thus making this goal possible,” he added.

Protesters demanded that governments increase contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, as well as the WHO initiative, by agreeing to an equitable contribution framework for each EU member state. They also highlighted repressive national drug policies that present major obstacles to ensuring adequate access to treatment and prevention programs for injecting drug users (IDUs) in post-Soviet countries.

"IDUs account for 82% of all HIV/AIDS cases in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, but only 23 percent of those receive any form of antiretroviral treatment and even their access to general medical care is very limited," said Konstantin Lezhentsev from International Harm Reduction Development Program of the Open Society Institute. "In Russia and other countries in the region the state offers IDUs nothing but short-term detoxification and jail. The removal of repressive laws and policies against IDUs is not just a human rights issue. Sound public health principles need to be prioritized over repressive law enforcement approaches in dealing with drug issues if this epidemic is to be contained."

Dublin Declaration on HIV/AIDS and Prisons Released

Also at the Dublin conference, a coalition of experts and NGOs put forward the "Dublin Declaration on HIV/AIDS in Prisons in Europe and Central Asia." The declaration outlines the rights of prisoners to HIV prevention and treatment during incarceration, and presents recommendations on governmental responsibilities to provide effective prevention and treatment interventions.

"Governments have a duty to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in prisons by providing proper care, treatment, and support to HIV-positive inmates and those vulnerable to infection. To do less for either group is not only an affront to humanity, but will further fuel the spread of this virus," Guarinieri asserted.

Signatories to the Dublin Declaration hailed from 20 different countries and eighty different NGOs in Europe, Central Asia, and elsewhere. The declaration is available below in PDF format, in both English and Russian.

For further information, please visit the Irish Penal Reform Trust.

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