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Statement by New York, 22 September 2003.
I would like, first of all, to congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President of this historic meeting. It attests to the esteem in which the international community holds you and your country. As the challenges of HIV/AIDS continue to seize the global community, the convening of this high-level plenary meeting and its interactive roundtable is undeniably pertinent. The forum provides us with an opportunity not only for reaffirming our commitments to combat the epidemic but also for an exchange of lessons learned and best practices drawn from national experiences in implementing the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS. Mr. President, While it is true that strong efforts are being made to combat the disease and restrict its spread, the grim reality presented by the ever-increasing statistics suggests that the war is far from over. The current efforts to combat the disease have also been hampered by the continuing gap between the availability of resources and the demand for effective and prompt implementation of the AIDS commitments. Enhanced facilitation through the leadership of the UN is crucial especially for developing countries in areas of technical cooperation and capacity building programmes; reduction of debt burdens of poor countries in order to boost the AIDS response in those countries; flexible implementation of the WTO Agreement on Trade – Related aspects of Intellectual property rights (TRIPS) in order to enable least developed countries to provide cheap generic drugs to their AIDS victims. The recent HIV situation in Indonesia is alarming, and the number of AIDS cases has increased by ten fold from 5 years ago. The country has been able to support a little more than 300 AIDS cases with ARVs. We are committed to the goal of UNGASS that all HIV persons must have access to affordable drugs including ARVs. It is a huge task for developing countries unless the right of access to affordable and cheap generic drugs is assured.
Mr. President, May I share in brief, some information about post UNGA Special Session momentum in Indonesia. Indonesia has already submitted the Progress Report 2003 on UNGASS’ commitments, to the Secretary General. The Principle achievements reported are the Combines Policy Index of 65% as well as overall expenditure by the Government of USD 3.25 million in 2002 and USD 5.6 million in 2003. International donors are providing an estimated USD 16.4 million in 2003. In March 2002, special Cabinet meeting endorsed a range of technical strategies and focuses consistent with the UNGA Special Session’s Declaration of Commitment that prioritizes HIV/AIDS in annual development planning, mainstreams HIV/AIDS into the planning of all involved ministries and establishes strong partnerships, with Civil Society being seen as a vital ally in this policy. In April 2002, over 300 participants from the government sector, civil society, bilateral and multilateral donors, and people living with HIV & AIDS jointly launched the national movement for AIDS – a strong demonstration of the Indonesian Government’s commitment to the GIPA principle (the Greater Involvement of People living with AIDS), consistent with Indonesia’s participation in the Paris Summit in 1994. A second Special Cabinet Meeting on HIV/AIDS took place on 5th July 2003. At this meeting Cabinet Ministers officially endorsed the new national strategy that strongly reflect the commitments of the UNGA Special Session. The new strategy clearly identifies that while prevention remains the mainstay of Indonesia’s programme, parallel scale up efforts are urgently needed for treatment, care and support of those already infected with the virus. The new National HIV/AIDS Strategy 2003 – 2007 means that donors have a clear policy framework within which to make decisions about development assistance as demonstrated by the recently completed UN Joint Action Programme for Indonesia. Mr. President, Indonesia has coordinated a multi partner effort with international as well as domestic organizations to meet the UN GA Special Session’s targets. However, monitoring the impact of AIDS, and the programmes to confront it, is critical to sustaining successful programmes, to demonstrating the value added of the increased resources being invested to fight AIDS and to continuing activities to raise funds. It is a key role of the UN, in the spirit of multilateralism, to use its unique positioning to help ensure that countries are able to programme resources in an efficient and transparent manner, that objective monitoring and evaluation is undertaken, that data is collected and used in policy debate, and that the results of this work are used to adjust programmes and mobilize further resources. Further support from the UN will be needed to help with efficient implementation of programmes. The increasing number of partners and actors becoming involved with AIDS at the country level is appropriate and welcomed. However, it also places burdens on limited government resources to coordinate and monitor actions being undertaken at the country level. UN support for national AIDS council secretariats or other coordinating bodies is greatly appreciated and much needed for effective use of increased resources to fight AIDS. In conclusion, the UN General Assembly Special Session process and Declaration of Commitment have significantly impacted on leadership and policy development in Indonesia. The Declaration is indeed a blueprint for action.
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