United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS
Statement by Mr. Jan Petersen, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway
New York, 22 September 2003

Follow-up to the outcome of the twenty-sixth special session: implementation of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS

Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen,

Combating HIV/AIDS requires global leadership, partnership and action. No government can deal with the challenges of the pandemic on its own. We need an extraordinary partnership between political leaders, international organisations, national public health systems, civil society and the private sector.

Significantly reducing HIV/AIDS is a Millennium Development Goal. The Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS sets out specific and ambitious, but still, achievable aims. I welcome this opportunity to review achievements and reinforce efforts to reach the targets, with the sense of urgency incorporated in the timetable.

Prevention, treatment and care are equally important to fight HIV/AIDS efficiently. Without well-functioning care and treatment, prevention will also fail. We must strengthen national health systems to make them able to better develop and sustain programmes for treatment and care. Keeping infected people alive and well is not only the right thing to do, but also vital for a country’s social stability and long-term economic future.

In this context, I welcome the agreement that was reached by the WTO to provide developing countries with greater access to cheaper medicines, including HIV-related drugs.

The struggle against HIV/AIDS requires us to apply distinct and mutually reinforcing approaches that reach out to men, women and children. We must promote male responsibility in order to achieve real changes in sexual behaviour. Norway is committed to the empowerment of women so that they can truly protect themselves. This has been a key goal of Norwegian development policy for many years.

We must encourage openness and dialogue towards our children. In South Africa, the campaign message is " Love your children enough to talk about sex". Moral leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu are actively supporting the campaign. Such efforts are important contributions to reducing the further spreading of HIV/AIDS as well as reducing the stigmatisation of those who are infected.

We have learnt from the humanitarian crisis in southern Africa, which was caused by a combination of food shortages and HIV/AIDS, that emergency assistance and long-term assistance must be better co-ordinated and combined. UNAIDS, WHO and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria have important roles to play in assisting countries addressing HIV/AIDS more effectively. We should look for ways to make multilateral efforts and other contributions function more effectively together.

Mr. President,

Norway is a firm supporter of UN efforts to halt the HIV/AIDS pandemic through UNAIDS and its co-sponsoring agencies. We have contributed substantial funds to the Global Fund [ to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria], and other international initiatives. The fight against HIV/AIDS is an important element in our bilateral development co-operation programmes and in our efforts trough civil society organisations. In 2004, we plan to step up our support, including support through multilateral channels. We will reward performance.

I would like to conclude by paying tribute to the Secretary-General for his strong personal engagement and leadership in the fight against AIDS. He has made this a priority issue for the whole UN system. His engagement should be an example to all of us. We can only win the fight against HIV/AIDS if we make that fight a top priority and apply the resources necessary.

Thank you