STATEMENT DELIVERED ON BEHALF OF MR. ROGER WRIGHT
Baghdad – 1 December, 2005
Salutations …
As we all observe World AIDS Day in Iraq I would particularly like to highlight the rapidly growing threat that this deadly epidemic presents to children – an acutely vulnerable group who continue to be a large and unacceptably missing face in this current global mosaic of efforts to arrest and halt this scourge - one that is relentlessly decimating human lives throughout the world.
Globally, every minute, another child dies from an AIDS-related illness. So, regrettably, by the time I complete this address some 15 to 20 will have died, while many others will have been laid to rest, if they are indeed that fortunate. This is the grim and tragic reality of children in the era of AIDS which has claimed more than 500,000 of their lives in 2005.
Again, every minute, four young people become infected with HIV. That is just shy of 6,000 per day, 42,000 each week and 168,000 per month. I will leave the rest of the calculations to you which I am sure will bring this very harsh and unsettling reality forcibly home.
And if this is not enough, consider the following; 15 million children worldwide have lost parents to AIDS and by 2010 that figure will increase to 20 million. Added to those already disquieting and alarming figures is the fact that in the aftermath of the increasing HIV/AIDS epidemic there is a legacy of deprivation - one that has left tens of millions of youth without teachers, health workers and other adults who care for them and protect them.
In high prevalence countries, child mortality rates are 20 to 100 percent higher than they would be without the burden of AIDS. And many children who do survive their early years are not expected to live past their mid-30s - turning 18 now means reaching middle age.
While important gains have been made in global funding for HIV/AIDS, 25 years into the pandemic, children are often not on the HIV/AIDS radar screen because they become infected, die and are often not perceived to be major transmitters of the virus/disease. They are left out of global awareness campaigns, budgets and actions to combat the epidemic. Bluntly put, they are not receiving services, care, support and the valuable knowledge they need to empower them to protect themselves against this deadly killer. It would seem that the only thing they are not missing out on is the deadly effects of the disease itself.
Fewer than five percent of HIV-positive children around the world have access to the treatment they need. Less than 10 percent of them who have lost parents to AIDS receive public support or care and have to join the unacceptably growing ranks of AIDS orphans on streets. They are without any doubt the true face of the poor and the powerless.
In addition, only 10 percent of pregnant women have access to services that can prevent the most heart rending form of transmission of the virus – mother-to-child.
Although the size of the problem is momentous, the world has been by and large unresponsive and in the face of a global malady that requires proactive interventions, one is really pushing the envelope to even describe efforts to date as reactive.
The fact of the matter is that as long as this continues, the number of children infected, killed, orphaned and left vulnerable due to AIDS will continue to escalate.
This is why last month, on 25 October, UNICEF launched its “Unite for Children - Unite Against Aids” global campaign. It is a clarion call for collective action against an epidemic that is increasingly hurting young people and terminating their natural right to develop into adults.
Youth now make up half of all new HIV infections worldwide. They often lack simple and fundamental information that is crucial to their safety. And in this age of AIDS, silence condemns future generations to death. This silence by so many over the last 15 years has resulted in the pandemic that now threatens existence, development, humanity and the future – our children.
That is why the UNICEF campaign calling for united efforts is so critical. It is about saving precious young lives and reaching children and youth with the lifesaving information and services that they so desperately need.
The campaign is meant to help keep a promise – a promise made by world leaders in 2000 at the United Nations Millennium Summit, which included goals on eradicating AIDS and on other areas in which this disease has left nothing behind but its recognizable and baleful initials. "Stop AIDS - Keep the Promise" is an appeal to governments and policy makers to meet the targets they agreed to in the Millennium Development Goals in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Some of those targets include: Reducing HIV prevalence by 25 percent among men and women aged 15–24 in the most affected countries; Ensuring that at least 90 percent of young people aged 15–24 have access to the information, education, and services necessary to develop the life skills required to reduce their vulnerability to HIV infection; Reducing the proportion of infants infected with HIV by 20 percent by increasing access to services that prevent mother-to-child transmission; Increasing annual spending on HIV and AIDS to $7–10 billion in low- and middle-income countries and those countries experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, rapid expansion of HIV.
Children and young people are experiencing the hell created by AIDS the most in Sub-Saharan Africa where the disease has taken the firmest hold. But they are also suffering in the Middle East, Asia, Europe, Latin America and beyond. The campaign is therefore global because the threat to children touches every point on this planet.
As the extent of the problem of children and HIV/AIDS is not fully understood we will focus elsewhere and here in Iraq on four main goals: reducing the percentage of young people living with HIV/AIDS by 25 percent; covering 80 percent of women who need services to prevent mother-to-child transmission; providing pediatric AIDS treatment to 80 percent of children in need; and reaching 80 percent of children in need of protection and support. The needs are acute and the goals extremely demanding. But we do firmly believe that that with united efforts they are highly achievable.
What is needed now is to translate commitment into concrete action. New partnerships have to be mobilized and existing ones reinforced. It also goes without saying that funding over and beyond what has been given so far has to be mobilized if this campaign is to achieve the goals set out.
There are those who question the cost effectiveness of HIV/AIDS campaigns, particularly in the area of preventing mother-to-child transmission, and point to what they perceive to be the prohibitive cost of testing. To that question we simply ask: How much is a child’s life worth? Can one put a price tag on something so precious? Moreover, can we really reduce it to something so simplistic and mechanical as cost and effect as if we are considering a mere commodity, project or service? How can we even afford to think about children’s lives in such detached terminology? And if there are those who still refuse to be convinced by that logic then perhaps they should consider that every case of HIV/AIDS which is averted saves up to US$100,000 per person in treatment.
Today, in every region, and in many countries, UNICEF is advocating for the rights of millions of children whose lives have been, and are in danger of being destroyed by a common killer that does not discriminate. Our Iraq offices in particular, are sparing no effort, resource or expertise to bring this global campaign here for the benefit of Iraqi children and we are working closely with the Government through its Ministry of Health and other partners as we implement this new initiative, “Unite for Children – Unite Against AIDS”.
UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) are the primary UN agencies currently supporting Iraq’s National AIDS programme. To date a draft framework has been developed which will be the basis of the future national strategic plan to address HIV/AIDS. Currently the Government and its partners are looking at the gaps and deficiencies in the national response to HIV/AIDS and what needs to be done to respond to the threat as well as to avoid a possible epidemic.
Fortunately, Iraq is currently regarded as a country with a low prevalence of HIV/AIDS. Statistics from 1996 to date indicate that there are 448 known cases of persons with the virus/disease. Of those cases, 261 are estimated to be Iraqis while the balance is comprised of foreigners. Two percent of all Iraqi cases were aged 15 years and under while the 15 to 29 age group accounted for 50 percent of the national total.
Deliberately, the recently launched global campaign for children is not a one off event, but ongoing as well as long-term, and therefore allows our Iraq offices the flexibility of progressively building up our support. At this point we envisage accelerating this campaign next year. Nevertheless, from now until then we will still carry on the work we have been doing to put the specific issue of HIV/AIDS and children high on the Iraqi agenda and keep it there.
As such we will continue to focus on educating the Iraqi population as a whole - especially young people - on HIV/AIDS, stressing that prevention is the key even in a low prevalence setting. Since there are proportionally more youth today than ever before, they must now become directly involved in UNICEF’s thrust to bring about HIV/AIDS prevention.
We also know that it will be critical to de-stigmatize HIV/AIDS if we are to best understand its magnitude in Iraq, improve prevention and better serve those who are already affected by it. UNICEF will actively pursue research to gain a clearer understanding of behaviour in order to make prevention programmes and services more targeted. Finally, there is a need to educate the population that the disease is not only acquired by outsiders and foreigners but that it is a reality affecting Iraqis. And that they must protect themselves and prevent further spread. Engaging Government and Iraqis from all walks of life is paramount to the success of this endeavour.
Iraq is currently a country in transition. Like many States that find themselves in this position it is fertile ground for the spread and increase of many ills, HIV/AIDS being a key one. Thus, even though prevalence is currently low, preventive action taken early enough can help stave off situations where one has to respond to a full blown crisis. In circumstances such as these, specific attention has to be paid to children and youth whose traditional structures such as family, homes, schools, and places of worship are weakened as well as threatened and where they may be left alone to fend for themselves and make irreversible errors.
Yet one has to be always cognizant that there are many obstacles that are currently impeding the implementation of sustainable human development in Iraq. Therefore confronting the challenge of HIV/AIDS while attempting to halt or slow down its impact, particularly on children, is just one critical component of a planned multi-faceted sustainable development programme that cannot be implemented properly until there is a real period of relative stability in Iraq.
In conclusion, I would like to touch again on one issue. In the past, perceived low prevalence of HIV/AIDS has often contributed to a false sense of security in many countries. It encourages ill-advised comfort and complacency as the reaction is more often than not one of “we don’t really have a problem” compared to other countries. The number of cases in Iraq may not seem like a large number when compared to prevalence in other places such as Sub-Saharan Africa where there are three millions cases or Eastern Europe and Central Asia where the figures now stand at 1.6 million. The reality is, however, that figures for HIV/AIDS never really tell the whole story. I would therefore like to close with an example to bring this reality home.
A fisherman sails out to sea at the beginning of each day with 12 fish baskets which he sets and leaves. He returns at sundown to retrieve the baskets which he then takes to shore where he counts his catch. One day he nets 180 fish, the next day 185, the third 192 and so on. One day, while retrieving his catch, he finds that two of his baskets have broken away and are adrift at sea now lost to him. He therefore returns with 10 of the original 12 baskets. Once on shore, he proceeds to count his catch for that day as per usual. He has netted 187 and he goes home happy that the total is still commensurate with those of previous days.
The point to be made here is that the 187 fish caught on this day is not a real figure. There are still two baskets out at sea catching fish, but he will never know the numbers and neither will those baskets be retrieved because they have been swept way by the current. One can apply this to HIV/AIDS statistics – there are statistics which have been obtained yet there are also baskets out there still catching, but which are now adrift with unknown figures while being swept along by a rapidly rising tide. This is enough to warn us all to be on our guard against the type of complacency and false optimism that can one day be shattered by an epidemic that was allowed to advance unchecked.
Thank you.
For further information, please contact:
David Singh, Media and External Relations, UNICEF Iraq Support Centre in Amman:
+962 (0) 6 551 5921 dsingh@unicef.org
