Press Release
29 November 2007
£59 million in new funding for African HIV/AIDS awareness drive
- Douglas Alexander says prevention key in fighting AIDS
The global fight against AIDS must go beyond treatment and focus more on
prevention, International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said today.
In a speech to Stop AIDS Campaigners in London, Douglas Alexander reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to achieving universal access to AIDS treatment, prevention and care by 2010.
He announced £19 million in UK support for a television awareness campaign in Southern Africa designed to change behaviour and encourage condom use; and a further £40 million to support World Bank and NGO activities to tackle HIV and AIDS in Kenya.
But he warned that although globally the percentage of people living with HIV has levelled off, every day brings 7000 new infections and 6000 deaths.
Commenting ahead of World AIDS Day on Saturday, Douglas Alexander said:
“Our commitment to universal access to AIDS prevention, treatment and care is unwavering. Indeed, as an international community we need to redouble our efforts. Given the scale of this challenge I am proud the UK is the world’s second largest bilateral donor. We are investing £1.5 billion in HIV/AIDS programmes in the three years up to 2008.
“And in September, I was pleased to make an unprecedented long-term commitment of up to £1 billion by 2015 to the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This represents a 20 per cent increase on our current level of commitment to the Global Fund and I continue to challenge other donors to contribute their fair share.
“DFID remains committed to increasing investment in prevention, not just treatment. We know that for every one person who is already getting much needed treatment, another three will be infected with HIV.
“As the disease continues to spread, it is women who are suffering in greatest numbers. In sub-Saharan Africa, young women are three times more likely to be HIV positive than young men. I want to see international leadership to tackle gender inequality and violence against women. I want us to help women and girls to build a brighter future.”
Mr Alexander said the need for leadership and collaboration extends beyond governments and donors.
“I know that organisations working on HIV and AIDS have long recognised the need to make the money work harder and have long championed the benefits that greater collaboration can bring. And together we want to develop stronger partnerships, including with civil society, multilateral and bilateral partners, national governments, and the private sector.”
Related Links
Notes to Editors:
- Case studies and photos of innovative projects available from DFID press office. These include: girls in Zambia educating their peers on how to avoid HIV; new AIDS treatments getting girls back into school in Malawi; and female hairdressers advising their clients on how to “get braids not AIDS”.
- Info for World AIDS Day “factbox” features
10 Things you didn’t know about HIV/AIDS and how DFID is tackling them …
- UNAIDS estimates that there’s a death from AIDS every 15 seconds. Every day 7, 000 people become infected with HIV and 6,000 people die from AIDS.
- The UK is the world’s second largest bilateral donor. We are investing £1.5 billion in HIV/AIDS programmes in the three years up to 2008, £150 million targeted on the needs of children affected by AIDS, for instance orphans.
- AIDS is still the primary cause of death in Africa. Globally the percentage of people living with HIV has levelled off and new infections have fallen but the scale of the pandemic is still vast: 33.2 million people are estimated to be living with HIV; 2.5 million people became newly infected this year; 2.1 million people died of AIDS
- By the end of last year, 2 million people in developing countries were receiving Antiretroviral Treatment - almost double the number in 2005.
- Every second, 15 UK funded condoms are used around the world. Since 2001 the UK has provided 1 billion condoms for use in the developing world.
- Education is a vaccine. In Swaziland, 66% of girls in school are HIV free, while 66% of teenage girls that are out of school are HIV positive
- DFID has targeted girls’ education programmes in several countries including Bangladesh and Afghanistan. In Nigeria DFID are supporting UNICEF’s Girl’s Education project which is generating remarkable results – with girls’ enrolments up by up to 15% in six northern states.
- Young women and girls are three times more vulnerable to HIV infection than their male counterparts.
- DFID has invested £50 million to help find a microbicide that would put control over safe sex back into the hands of women.
- DFID is helping the Government of Sierra Leone draw up new legislation that, for the first time, sets a minimum age for marriage, makes domestic violence illegal and gives women greater rights to inherit property and greater protection in marriage.
