A survey reveals that the French want their country to become more involved in the global fight against AIDS.
The French want the fight against AIDS to intensify. This is the message of the NGOs to the attention of the President of the Republic, a few days away from a famous cultural event dedicated to the cause.
“From June 24 to 26, the Solidays music festival will be held in Paris in solidarity with the fight against AIDS. It is also an opportunity for François Hollande to commit to respecting the will of the French and to express France’s support for the global fight against the epidemic through an increase in its contribution to the Global Fund ”, write thus the authors of a joint press release from Coalition PLUS, AIDES and Act Up-Paris.
An objective deemed “priority”
The NGOs also reveal the results of an Ifop poll, which shows the interest of the French for this cause. Indeed, according to this survey, seven out of ten people believe that the fight against AIDS “is a priority objective of development aid”; 75% of them believe that technical and financial aid to developing countries can “help reduce the spread or appearance of certain epidemics, as is the case with HIV”.
The UN has confirmed that the eradication of the epidemic is possible by 2030. It pledged in June to put 30 million patients on treatment by 2020 and to mobilize $ 26.2 billion for end the epidemic in the next few years.
$ 7 billion needed
“The UN estimates an additional need of only 7 billion dollars (or 0.01% of global GDP) per year to end AIDS in 15 years, a drop in the water on the scale of the first world powers whose France is part, the associations point out. This investment is not a question of financial resources, but of political will ”.
Thus, nine out of ten French people think that rich countries, including France, should participate in this effort. Elements which could weigh while next September 16, the donor states of the Global Fund will meet in Montreal to announce the amount of their contribution to the fight against the three pandemics (AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria).
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has already announced a 20% increase in his financial commitment. The United States, Luxembourg, the European Union and Japan are among the donor states which have decided to intensify their efforts to achieve this goal of eradicating AIDS in the next fifteen years.
“President Hollande must do more”
“The Global Fund, created in 2000 at the initiative of France in particular, is the main funder of treatment and prevention programs for people living with HIV in poor countries”, the associations continue to remind us. This fund finances half of the antiretroviral treatments in the world. “It is one of the only international institutions that fund access to rights and health programs for key populations, including in contexts where they are criminalized.”
The associations therefore urge François Hollande to respect French opinion and to follow the example of the donor states of the Global Fund by increasing its contribution to the Global Fund to fight AIDS for the next three years.
“President Hollande must do more. It is not a question of maintaining the effort, but of increasing it. Otherwise, it will be the death announced for thousands of patients who do not have access to prevention, screening and treatment ”.
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