As we approach World AIDS Day on Friday, December 1, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s remarkable op-ed in today’s USA Today urges leadership and commitment in conquering “the greatest challenge of our generation.”
“As I made HIV/AIDS a priority in my work as secretary-general, I called for the creation of a “war chest” of an additional $7 billion to $10 billion a year. Today, I am deeply proud to be patron of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which has channeled almost $3 billion to programs across the globe. Recently, we have seen significant additional funding from bilateral donors, national treasuries, civil society and other sources. But much more is needed; by 2010, total needs for a comprehensive AIDS response will exceed $20 billion a year.Because the response has started to gain real momentum, the stakes are higher now than ever. We cannot risk letting the advances that have been achieved unravel; we must not jeopardize the heroic efforts of so many. The challenge now is to deliver on all the promises that governments have made. Leaders must hold themselves accountable — and be held accountable by all of us.”
Read the full article here.
