Minister of International Development opened AIDS conference

Today Minister of International Development Hilde F. Johnson opened the conference Women are..., arranged by Pluss-National Association Against AIDS on World AIDS Day.

Later today the Minister will, together with Crown Prince Haakon, open the photo exhibition Say no-no or you’re dead-dead in Oslo Cathedral.

The theme of World AIDS Day is women, girls, HIV and AIDS. Every day 13 000 people are infected with HIV, and an increasing number of them are women and girls.

“The feminisation of the AIDS epidemic is a serious threat to development in poor countries. We will have to strengthen women’s rights and legal status and provide them with better means of protecting themselves if we are to succeed in reversing the epidemic,” said the Minister of International Development.

The Government has already announced that it will allocate an additional NOK 100 million for direct measures to combat HIV/AIDS next year. Research on an AIDS vaccine and products that will reduce the risk of infection and are designed particularly for women, are among the areas where support will be increased.

“Condoms have proved to be insufficient in the fight against AIDS. The use of condoms is generally controlled by men. Therefore, we have decided to increase our support for the development of products that women themselves can control,” said the Minister.

Press contact: Information adviser Wera Helstrøm, mobile phone: 99 40 93 23