LONDON— AS the curtain on the Global Roundtable of the tenth anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) ends in London, governments, health experts and professionals as well as activists and civil society are more determined to the commitments of the ICPD goals especially in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
In a statement to mark the close of ceremonies of the event, Director-General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Mr. Steven Sinding stated that the enormous challenge of taming the HIV/AIDS pandemic would only succeed if everyone worked together, adding that it is essential that countries unite the sexual and reproductive health movement with the movement fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
According to him, simplistic approaches like the one the Bush’s administration has adopted will only condemn millions to the risk of HIV infection. He noted that unifying reproductive health and AIDS prevention is made more urgent by the explosive growth of AIDS among women and young people because “we in the reproductive health field are the ones with the special expertise to address the needs of these two population.”
Demanding for more funds to support HIV/AIDS programmes, Mr. Sinding stated family planning and reproductive health programmes have been sidelined as many funders support stand-alone AIDS programmes. He added that in the process, these funders have passed tremendous experience, knowledge and resources available through existing infrastructure. Continuing, he said the IPPF is a known resource for preventing pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted infections and as such deserve a fair share of the resources to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Mr. Sinding is of the view that in spite of the tremendous support the Cairo consensus and millennium development goals (MDGs) have enjoyed, the MDGs are dead letters unless the Cairo goals are achieved. Said he:
“We won’t reduce poverty, provide universal primary education, reduce infant mortality, or solve the HIV/AIDS crisis unless we accomplish the goals of the ICPD. The ICPD is the only yeast that can make the MDG bread rise.”
The IPPF boss was impressed with the presence of youths at the tenth anniversary meeting stating that it was “a momentous change” from Cairo.
