POLITICAL DECLARATION BRINGS US TO THE NEXT LEVEL ON THE ROAD OF ENDING AIDS.
Ukraine jointly with other nearly 200 countries at the High Level Meeting on AIDS in New York has adopted “Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS: On the Fast-Track to Accelerate the Fight against HIV and to End the AIDS Epidemic by 2030”. Alliance for Public Health (Alliance) being represented by Andriy Klepikov at the Ukrainian official delegation joins the country in endorsing the Declaration.
It sets ambitious targets for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and Ukraine in the nearest months has to identify own targets for within the broader regional ones: reducing the number of new infections by 75% (to 44,000) and increasing the number on treatment to 1.4 million by 2020 in the EECA.
The Declaration doesn’t refer to any particular country but in fact refers to the Ukrainian successful experience acknowledging that “some countries and regions have made significant progress in expanding health-related risk and harm reduction programmes”. Acting Minister of Health of Ukraine Viktor Shafranskiy in his speech also emphasized Ukraine’s work focusing on key affected populations and in particular people who inject drugs implemented in partnership between government and civil society. He highlighted the incredible progress Ukraine made in scaling up opioid substitution therapy.
In the Political Declaration the UN Member States emphasized the continued importance of an integrated approach to AIDS, tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C by including the following global targets:
· Reduce tuberculosis-related AIDS deaths by 75% by 2020.
· Reach 90% of all people who need tuberculosis treatment, including 90% of populations at higher risk, and achieve at least 90% treatment success by 2020.
· Reduce by 30% new cases of chronic viral hepatitis B and C by 2020.
· Treat 3 million people with chronic hepatitis C by 2020.
Political Declaration specifically lists “tailored prevention interventions, including outreach via traditional and social media and peer-led mechanisms, male and female condom programming, voluntary medical male circumcision, as well as medication assisted therapy programmes, injecting equipment programmes, pre-exposure prophylaxis for people at high risk of acquiring HIV, antiretroviral therapy, and other relevant interventions”. It pledges “to intensify efforts towards the goal of comprehensive prevention, treatment, care and support programmes that will help to significantly reduce new infections, increase life expectancy and quality of life, the promotion, protection and fulfillment of all human rights and the dignity of all people living with, at risk of, and affected by HIV and AIDS and their families”.
Nevertheless, it is important to note that endorsement of the Declaration by consensus became possible on the certain compromises. From one side, we are glad that an attempt to weaken the Declaration wording initiated by Russian Federation which intervened the negotiation process at its final stage, was not supported by other countries and was decline. From another side, there are disappointments that the Political Declaration insufficiently describes and addresses HIV epidemic among key populations, including people who inject drugs, sex workers, men who have sex with men, and transgender people. At the stage of political guiding AIDS response for the next years it is vitally important to be honest and crystal clear on the global roadmap. With this in mind a parallel with the official Political Declaration the Civil Society and Communities Declaration to End HIV: Human Rights Must Come First was adopted these days. Alliance for Public Health was among the first organizations which endorsed it. Jointly we call for the critical 10 steps necessary to make the “end of AIDS” a reality!
Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS is an eye opener on the road to ending epidemic. Communities and Civil Society Declaration helps to have both eyes opened and it’s provisions should be taken into account when implementation of Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS .