Stop AIDS Campaign G8 comment: Dropping AIDS treatment will betray 40m people wi

[Guest guest]

G8 MEDIA COMMENT: Tuesday 5 July 2005 10:45 - for immediate

release.

Dropping

AIDS treatment will betray 40m people with HIV

NGO members

of the Stop AIDS Campaign have reacted with alarm to

suggestions

that the commitment to universal access to HIV and AIDS

treatments

by 2010 may be dropped from the G8 communiqué. If

rumours that

the US is trying to get this target

dropped from the text are

true, this

will undermine the Commission for Africa and backtrack

from the G7

Finance Ministers' Statement of only three weeks ago.

Kirsty

McNeill, Stop AIDS Campaign manager said: " Throughout the run-

up to the

G8, leaders have shown that they recognise that high levels

of death and

illness in developing countries are crippling the

ability of

poor countries to cope with extreme poverty. The

commitment

that the finance ministers made to universal access to HIV

treatment by

2010 gave hope to millions of people. If the G8 meeting

backtracks

from this, they will have betrayed those hopes. "

Simon

, Stop AIDS Campaign spokesperson said: " This year of all

years, the

G8 must respond to the worldwide movement demanding access

to

medicines. If the G8 does not commit to increasing access to

treatment,

they will be failing to act on the single biggest threat

to

development that the world faces. The AIDS crisis is the strongest

argument for

doubling aid, for debt relief and for fair trade. "

Notes

1. The

Commission from Africa, Labour's Election manifesto

and

the G7 Finance

Ministers all supported universal access by 2010.

2.

Spokespeople Simon 07976 907291 and Kirsty McNeill 07887

856571 are

available for further information, briefing and

interviews,

in Edinburgh, Gleneagles and in London. African

colleagues

are also available.

3. The Stop

AIDS Campaign consists of 70 of the UK's leading

international

development organisations, is one of the key networks

in the Make

Poverty History coalition.

Attachment: vcard [not shown]